“Naomi “camelled” between Sorana’s serves, after the game the rivals exchanged a cold handshake”, — write: sport.ua
On January 22, Naomi defeated Sorana in the round of 32 match with a score of 6:3, 4:6, 6:2 in 1 hour and 58 minutes.
In the third set, Osaka shouted “kamon” between Kirsty’s first and second serves, which Sorana didn’t like and she turned to the umpire: “Is that normal? Shouting “kamon” between draws? After all, this is not the first time in a match.” To this, the Romanian heard the answer that it is not prohibited by the rules.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 22, 2026
After the confrontation ended, Osaka and Kirstya exchanged a cold handshake.
- Naomi Osaka: Why are you doing that?
- Sorana Kirstya: Because you don’t know what fair play is, my friend. You’ve been playing for so long and you still don’t know what fair play is.
Naomi Osaka and Sorana Cirstea had some words at the net after their match at the Australian Open.👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/pB1qyNoUAR
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 22, 2026
During an on-court interview, Osaka revealed what it took to beat Sorana:
“Must have been a lot of ‘kamons’ that made her so angry or something. She is an excellent player. This appears to be her last Australian Open. It’s a pity that it turned out that way. Although she could have just said, “I’m sorry, but you’re getting in the way.” Sometimes emotions overwhelm, that’s understandable. As a result, she had an incredible match.”
NAOMI OSAKA GOT THAT DAWGG IN HER AND EVERYONE KNOWS, SORONA CIRSTEA GONNA HAVE NIGHTMARES OF OSAKA HYPING HERSELF UP IN HER SLEEP TN 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/QgViJK8T9V
— Noah’s Sports (@noah_everything) January 22, 2026
Sorana Kyrstya said at the press conference that they settled the situation with Naomi:
“All right. We just talked a little bit. Nothing special. I don’t think that’s the main thing after tonight’s match. The match was good, towards the end she was stronger than me. And yes, she deserved to win. That’s all I’ll say. I will not talk about it. This is my last Australian Open, I’ve been playing for 20 years. It seems to me that there is more going on now than just a five-second discussion at the end of our match.
Did you get a chance to talk to Naomi after the match? What is the most important part of today? There was no drama in this – just two players, who have been on Tour for a long time, exchanged a couple of phrases within five seconds. It’s between us. Again, this is my last match at the Australian Open. I would like to stop there.”
Naomi Osaka also commented on the situation at the press conference:
“To be honest, I have never been in such a situation before. I don’t know if we should leave it on the court and keep talking, “Hi, how are you?” I’m a little confused, but I understand that it’s very emotional for her. And I want to apologize. I think the first few words I said on the court were disrespectful. I don’t like to show disrespect to people. If she wants to talk about it, then yes. When I back myself up, I don’t think, “Yeah, now I’m knocking [уважність] another person”. This is exclusively for me.”
🇯🇵 “Je n’ai jamais vécu ça. J’étais un perdue, mais je comprends que les émotions étaiten fortes. Je m’excuse certains mots étaiten déplaced. Je n’aime pas manquer de respect, pas mon style. Me motivater nest jamais pour déranger”Osaka sur Cirsteapic.twitter.com/gV5j0NEx0j
— TennisTemple (@tennistemple) January 22, 2026
Video review of the match between Naomi Osaka and Sorana Kirstya