Celebrity

Fans Are Loving Naomi Osaka’s Cheeky Victory Speech Quip

Australian Open champion, Naomi Osaka had nothing but praise, respect and a dash of cheek for opponent, Jennifer Brady.

by Merryana Salem  21 February 2021
naomi osaka australian open

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Naomi Osaka won the womens’ final of the Australian open against US player, Jennifer Brady last night. The match was incredible, but it’s her acceptance speech that fans can’t get enough of.

After defeating her American opponent 12 games to seven, Osaka was awarded her fourth grand slam title. She is the third player ever to win their first four major finals in the Open Era- after Monica Seles and Roger Federer.

This win is her second Australian Open championship win in three years. Osaka first held the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in Melbourne, back in 2019.

At 23, she is the number 3 seeded womens’ tennis player in the world. Despite all the history Osaka has made, and will no doubt continue to make, her acceptance speech last night as humble as they come. Osaka thanked her team and the organisers for their hard work in these pandemic times.

Most notably, Osaka praised her opponent– championship runner-up, Jennifer Brady- for her growth as a player since the pair had played in the US Open.

“We played in the semis of the US Open a couple of months ago and I told everyone that would listen that you’re gonna be a problem – and I was right,” Osaka said.

This praise came after what was undoubtedly a cheeky jab from Osaka. Before beginning her speech, Naomi Osaka aked her opponent if she preferred to be called Jenny of Jennifer.

Brady responded clearly. “Jenny.”

Osaka, then, didn’t miss a beat and replied, “firstly, I want to congratulate Jennifer.”

There are some fans who believe Naomi was intentionally trolling Brady maliciously. However, considering the amount of praise and respect Osaka heaped on her match-mate in her speech, it seems most likely the comment was in friendly jest.

Either that or I wouldn’t be surprised if Osaka simply misheard Brady. With Melbourne out of hard lockdown and the crowd returned to the arena, it’s not as if it would have been easy to hear up on that podium.

Osaka had nothing but praise for both Brady and her team saying, “It’s really incredible to see your growth over the past few months, it’s really cool for me to see. I know that you’re probably working very hard, so I want to congratulate your team over there as well.”

The Australian Open concludes tonight with the men’s finals. Novak Djokovic will play Daniil Medvedev for the men’s championship at 7:30 pm on Channel Nine.

Merryana Salem is a proud Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian writer, critic, teacher, researcher and podcaster on most social media as @akajustmerry. If you want, check out her podcast, GayV Club where she gushes about LGBT rep in media with her best friend. Either way, she hopes you ate something nice today.