Naomi Osaka snubs Victoria Mboko after Canadian’s NBO final win, skips media duties
Former world No. 1 failed to congratulate Canadian teen tennis sensation who defeated her in National Bank Open final in Montreal.
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Canada’s newest teen tennis sensation was on top of the world in Montreal on Thursday night.
Victoria Mboko became the first Canadian to win the hometown tournament in Montreal and just the third to do it in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969).
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Naomi Osaka snubs Victoria Mboko after Canadian’s NBO final win, skips media duties Back to video
After celebrating her come-from-behind, 2-6 6-4 6-1 win over the Japanese star, Mboko ran to hug her family and coaches in their courtside box as the crowd went wild.
But while Mboko was overjoyed, her opponent in the final was notably less than enthused.
In fact, many were quick to note that Naomi Osaka, the former world No. 1, didn’t congratulate the victorious Victoria in her post-match speech.
“Thanks, I guess,” Osaka began her speech at centre court. “I don’t really want to take up too much time, so I’ll just say thank you to everyone.
“Thank you to my team, thank you to the ball kids, thank you to the organizers and all the volunteers, and I hope you guys all had a good night.”
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, also had appeared sour at times during the match as the raucous crowd in Montreal rallied behind the hometown hero.
In fact, the crowd got so rowdy that the umpire repeatedly asked fans to “please be quiet during the points.”
About an hour after the match, the WTA Tour announced that Osaka would not be available for a press conference and that quotes would be provided.
“I think Victoria played really well,” Osaka said in the transcript provided by the WTA. “I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court … She did really amazing.”
Mboko, being in stereotypically Canadian fashion, took no offence to the perceived snub.
“If that was her wish (not to do a press conference), I respect it as well,” Mboko said at her post-match press conference. “I still think Naomi’s an incredible player and it doesn’t ever change what I think of her. I think she’s still a really nice girl and I still look up to her.”
Tennis fans on social media, however, weren’t as forgiving.
“Naomi Osaka such a sore loser and no sportsmanship. She could have at least been gracious and thank the winner that she lost against!” one user wrote on X.
“Naomi Osaka not congratulating a young black girl who looks up to her on her first main tour trophy is in incredibly poor taste,” another posted.
Mboko will now climb to 25th in the women’s singles world rankings, a stunning rise after she began the year outside the top 300 and started the tournament ranked 85th.
On Friday, Mboko withdrew from the Cincinnati Open, another 1000-level event that started Thursday, despite having earned a performance bye. Osaka also withdrew from the event.
Mboko also has earned automatic entry into the main draw at the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the season beginning Aug. 24.
–With files from the Canadian Press
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