Naomi Osaka is still trying to round into the same kind of form that allowed her to win four Grand Slams and allow her to reach No. 1 on the WTA tour. After taking more than a year off, getting back to playing an extremely high level of tennis takes a while.
Osaka has also been the kind of player who gets fired up on the court. Sometimes her opponents don't like this, but she rarely, if ever, makes celebratory noises after winning a point or gets upset at herself when she loses one, simply to try to throw off whoever she is playing.
That was likely the case in the Japanese player's second-round match at the Australian Open against Sorana Cirstea. Cirstea herself has been a feisty player during her career as well, but she is also close to retiring. 2026 will be her final year on the WTA tour.
Naomi Osaka explains feisty handshake with Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open
The match was tense and went three sets. Osaka won 6-3 4-6 6-2, and the third set seemed over quickly. Osaka got an early break, and while serving to try to eventually get to even at 4-2, Cirstea appeared to get annoyed at Osaka as the Japanese player kept saying "come on!" to herself between points.
After the match ended and the two players went to shake hands at the net, Cirstea barely acknowledged Osaka, who was obviously annoyed when speaking with Chanda Rubin in her post-match on-court press conference. As always, Osaka said how she truly felt about the matter.
"Apparently, a lot of ‘come-ons’ that she was angry about, but whatever,” Osaka said. “I mean, I tried to play well. I think I hit a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best. She’s a great player — I think this was her last Australian Open, so, okay, sorry she was mad about it."
Naomi Osaka on the icy handshake with Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 22, 2026
“What did it take to get through that one?”
Naomi: “Apparently a lot of come ons that she was angry about. Whatever. She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open. Sorry she was mad… pic.twitter.com/uCODMBfnKD
The Japanese player also said "sorry" again when addressing the match, which was Cirstea's last ever at the Australian Open, but the apology was far more of a "sorry not sorry." To be fair, Naomi Osaka didn't need to say she was sorry. Players say things all the time between points. Had she done it during a point or with clear intent to push Cirstea off her game, the matter would have been different.
Osaka didn't need to try to affect Sorana Cirstea. The Japanese player was playing well enough without saying a word to beat the Romanian. Osaka will next face qualifier Maddison Inglis in the third round. Should the Japanese win that, a fourth-round match against Iga Swiatek potentially looms.