"I just felt really bad and like shame": Naomi Osaka admits negative thoughts in losing Canadian Open final

Naomi Osaka sat down with the press in New York ahead of the US Open, where she spoke candidly about her recent run to the final in Canada, her memories of Flushing Meadows, and her hopes for the upcoming fortnight.

The four-time Grand Slam champion said preparations have gone smoothly in her pre-tournament press conference: “Yeah, I mean I’m feeling pretty good, and practice has been good too.”

Osaka was asked about her experience following the final in Canada, where attention turned to her post-match speech. She admitted she didn’t follow the coverage closely.

“Honestly, I don’t really know what was written, to be honest. I just got messages from people telling me what was potentially being written. So, to this day, I honestly couldn’t know what you’re referring to—but I know you’re talking about the congratulations part,” she explained.

Wanting to make sure Victoria Mboko wasn’t negatively affected, Osaka clarified: “I made sure to talk to her, because I know she’s young, and I would feel really terrible if that somehow impacted her humongous success. But she said it didn’t and she didn’t even really notice, so I was really glad about that. And I was also just really glad that she’s such a sweet girl—which honestly just made me feel even more terrible.”

She admitted nerves played a part in the moment: “Even going into the final I wanted to potentially write my speech, because I know how I am with talking and doing speeches. That was kind of a lesson to stick to my instincts a little. But yeah, I’ll definitely remember to congratulate my opponents.”

Asked what she might one day tell her daughter Shai about her experiences in New York, Osaka was reflective.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of experiences at this tournament. I think what I would tell her is this is probably my favorite and the greatest tournament for me. I have so many really cool memories here, and I also have some not-so-cool memories. But for me, the US Open is like an embodiment of New York—it’s very loud and busy, but it’s also really special.”

Although disappointed by her Canadian Open final, Osaka insisted she also took positives. “Yes and no,” she said. “Yes, because my biggest goal was to be seeded in a tournament, and that’s something I knew immediately. But no, because I just felt really bad and like shame. I think I felt worse for my team, because we couldn’t really celebrate properly. They were with me the entire time, so they knew how big of a deal the final was. Just knowing that I can go back to—I don’t want to say that level, but just knowing that I can be there—it was still important.”

Osaka described feeling at home at Flushing Meadows, having grown up in the city. “I’m okay with it because I grew up here. As a little kid I used to be in those stands, and I always wondered what it would feel like to be the one actually playing. So yeah, I think it’s fun. It’s something you grow up watching, and then finally you’re there.”

She also reflected on the difficulty of sustaining dominance at the US Open. “Honestly, I wouldn’t really know. I’ve always told people I’m a hard-court player, and that speaks in my results. But I would say to do well here, as much as I love the noise, you kind of have to block it out at the same time and just focus on doing your best one match at a time. I honestly didn’t even know that stat was a thing—that’s kind of wild.”

The press conference circled back to Osaka’s post-final speech, something she admitted is still a work in progress. “It’s weird, I have experience and also not as much experience with speeches. Since I’ve been back, I’ve only been in two finals. In one of them, I definitely fumbled the speech—I hope no one looks it up—but I was stuttering a lot. I figured that since I knew what I did wrong in the first one, I could get it right in the second, but clearly it didn’t work out that way. Maybe third time’s a charm, but I’ll probably write something down for the third one.”

Looking ahead to the US Open, Osaka credited her new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski with bolstering her confidence. “I’m working with a new coach—he’s really great. He cuts to the chase, and he makes me feel like he’s the encyclopedia of tennis, so it’s good to have someone like that in your corner. Physically, I feel really good. I’m getting to balls very quickly, which makes me feel less pressured to end points early. Since we adapt our game plan to who I’m playing, it should be a really interesting tournament.”

On lists ranking tennis players by earnings, Osaka was dismissive: “Honestly, I don’t really pay attention to it. For me, the list I’m currently paying attention to is the rankings list, and that’s the only one I want to see my name at the top of. Everything else is kind of a consequence of how well I do on the court.”

One of the lighter moments came when Osaka spoke about playing mixed doubles with Gaël Monfils.

“That’s my GOAT right there,” she smiled. “He was super kind, exactly how I imagined him. He was constantly telling me ‘good point’ or ‘keep going,’ and he’s super adorable. We were talking about our kids—I was joking that we’re team parents because we both have daughters. He even said they should go on a play date, which I thought was super cute.”

Osaka said the opportunity carried personal significance. “I don’t think he knows how important he is to players like me. Back when the Miami Open was Sony Ericsson, I would go when I was 10, 12, 13 just to watch him and Tsonga. I vividly remember sitting in the heat waiting for his match. So to play with him was really cool.”

With the US Open underway, Osaka is embracing both the weight of her past achievements in New York and the promise of new beginnings under her current team. “For me, this is probably my favorite and the greatest tournament,” she said. “I have so many memories here. It’s loud, it’s busy, but it’s really special.”