‘There Was a Tennis Film?’ – Naomi Osaka Says She Had No Idea Serena Williams’ King Richard Was at Oscars

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka have an interesting history. They faced each other for the first time in 2018 at the Miami Open. The younger Williams sister, who had been handed a wildcard entry, lost to the Japanese in the opening round. Further, they met again that year at the US Open. It was the summit clash. However, it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as Osaka prevailed in an ill-tempered match. It was the first of her four Major titles.

Last year, Osaka defeated Serena in the semifinals at the Australian Open. Further, she went on to defeat Jennifer Brady in the summit clash to win her fourth Grand Slam title. Osaka is in Miami this week to participate at the Miami Masters 1000. Recently, she made a surprising revelation about the movie ‘King Richard’.

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Naomi Osaka hasn’t watched the King Richard film

During a post-match press conference, an interviewer asked Osaka whether she followed the Oscars which involved a tennis film, and if she watched it. Answering the question, Osaka said, “There was a tennis film?” The reporter said that it was King Richard.

Further, Osaka said, “You know what’s weird? I still haven’t watched that. And everyone is like asking me questions about it. I think my problem is like I’m waiting to see it on the airplane, but I haven’t gone overseas yet.”

Moreover, she added, “So I know that’s really bad. They used to have it on HBO Max, but then I downloaded it and it expired. But, yeah, so I really need to watch that. I saw Beyonce’s performance. She was beautiful as always. But, yeah, I saw the trending topic. There is a lot of memes about it. Yeah, it’s funny and unfortunate at the same time.”

Osaka relates to Serena’s story

The 24-year-old also opened up about how she looked up to the American legend while growing up. Osaka said, “I mean, I feel like I know it pretty well. I read Serena’s book, and also, coming up on tour, my dad would talk to Mr. Williams a lot. My trainer was also talking to Mr. Williams. So they would like pass down stories and stuff. It’s just like really cool because I feel like it’s so interesting how one family is so monumental for the sport.” 

Further, she added, “I feel really bad I haven’t watched the movie yet. Yeah, I hear that all the time, yeah. I should watch it, for sure. I wouldn’t say like I took a class on their story, but I would say like for me it resonates deeply, because some of the things that they went through, I feel like I went through the similar thing with my dad.”

Osaka is having an impressive run so far at the Miami Open. She defeated Alison Riske 6-3, 6-4 in the Round-of-16 clash. Further, she’ll take on home-hope, Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals.

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Can Osaka dig deep to win her maiden Miami Masters title this year?  Let us know your views in the comments below.