Japanese tennis ace Naomi Osaka is among the biggest young achievers in the sport. At an age of 24, she already has four Grand Slam titles to her name. The first one of that was special as it came against her role model, Serena Williams. However, the way it came, it made more controversy than Osaka would have expected.

In the second set of the match, Williams engaged in an argument with the chair umpire which caught the media’s attention. Osaka definitely wouldn’t have wanted her first Grand Slam to be like that. However, she believes, it would have not happened if a male player did what Williams did. Here’s what she had to say about it.

Serena paid the price for being Serena Williams

Speaking about the 2018 US Open final, the 24-year-old agreed that women are getting different treatment than men in the aspect of getting angry on the court. “Actually, many male players have done far worse like not only last year and this year and they don’t get news reports,” she said.

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She continued, “Also, I am not sure if that’s because Serena is Serena or people just wanted to write negative things. But I definitely felt like I can’t say if we were both male players, the outcome would have been the same way. But I do know that people are very interested in Serena and whatever she does is going to get news attention.” 

Naomi Osaka pays tribute to her idol, Serena Williams

Naomi Osaka is undoubtedly a massive Serena Williams fan. Williams was in fact the inspiration for Naomi Osaka to pick up the racket. It was an emotional moment for Osaka when she got the news that her idol is set to retire.

Praising the 40-year-old, Naomi Osaka said that Serena Williams changed the sport. The American not only created some unbelievable records but also inspired many of the next generation of tennis players. Adding further, Osaka said that Williams introduced tennis to people who had never heard of it earlier.

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Naomi Osaka also credited Serena Williams and her family for her achievements. In all, she summed up the 23-time Grand Slam champion as the biggest force in the sport.

Do you agree with Naomi Osaka’s comments on Serena Williams? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.