Naomi Osaka: No hard feelings over Serenas US Open tantrums
News & Trends •
i want to do well at the pan pacific open and maybe year-end top five but im not putting pressure on myself. for now im just sort of riding the wave1 japans naomi osaka has refused to criticise serena williams after her historic us open victory was overshadowed by the americans furious row with the chair umpire1 japanese tennis legend kimiko date told afp it made her heart ache to see osaka reduced to tears and unable to savour her moment of glory1 but after returning to japan on thursday osaka insisted there were no hard feelings towards williams who branded umpire carlos ramos a thief in an astonishing tantrum triggered by a code violation for coaching that culminated in a docked game1 for me i dont feel sad because i wouldnt even know what im expected to feel said osaka who has climbed from 19th to seventh in the new world rankings1 i dont think i even thought about feeling sad because theres no experience for me to draw on in any other grand slam final she added1 i just thought i shouldnt have any regrets. overall i felt really happy and know i accomplished a lot1 osaka who competes at next weeks pan pacific open in tokyo also revealed her plans to break into the top five this year and win a shiny gold medal at the 2020 tokyo olympics1 i think for this year my immediate goal would be to get to singapore said osaka after putting herself firmly in contention to reach the season-ending wta finals1 the 20-year-old melted hearts when she broke down sobbing after thrashing her idol 6-2 6-4 to become japans first grand slam singles champion in new york last weekend1 of course im very excited the olympics are going to be held in tokyo added osaka who is of haitian-japanese descent and was raised in the united states1 its every athletes dream to play in the olympics so of course it would be my goal to win gold1 date a former world number four has tipped osaka to become japans first tennis number one1 but for now osaka is itching to do normal stuff like catch up with big sister mari who is also a professional tennis player go shopping and eat her favourite matcha ice cream1 i guess id like to hang out with my sister i havent seen her since wimbledon said osaka who has become an unlikely hero in a country still reeling after a summer of deadly typhoons and earthquakes1 the pan pacific is so close and i have to be on a diet for my matches so maybe afterwards for the ice cream1 asked how she felt about being a role model for young children osaka gave mixed signals1 ive always thought kei nishikori was a super good role model and hopefully i can be that too she said. but dont look up to me because i dont want that responsibility1