Naomi Osaka has revealed that Serena Williams told her “she was proud” of the Japanese youngster after her stunning US Open triumph.
Despite an astonishing verbal confrontation between Williams and umpire Carlos Ramos during the final that saw the 23-times Grand Slam singles winner docked a game, Osaka held herself together to become Japan’s first female major champion.
During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 20-year-old Osaka said Williams had moved to reassure her that the crowd at Flushing Meadows were not booing her after the 6-2 6-4 victory.
“She said that she was proud of me and that I should know that the crowd wasn’t booing at me,” said Osaka. “So, I was really happy that she said that.”
“At the time, I did kind of think that they were booing at me because I couldn’t tell what was going on because it was just so loud in there so it was a little bit stressful.”