I woke up this morning to the Internet on fire. (I know – these days, that’s most mornings.) The topic du jour of my all-Japan-all-the-time Twitter feed was the now-infamous US Open match between Osaka Naomi (大坂なおみ) and Serena Williams. Osaka, the child of a Haitian-American father and Japanese mother, has been playing spectacular tennis all year, and she made history by becoming the first Japanese female tennis player not only to play in a final at the US Open, but to win it – and all at the tender age of 20.
Unfortunately, her win was marred by a controversy that is riling emotions in both the US and Japan. Williams, who had a penalty called against her for receiving coaching from her coach in the stands, grew increasingly indignant at what she considered a shitty call, and racked up subsequent penalties in her ensuing squabbles with the referee. At the Awards Ceremony, Williams came across as depressed, indignant, and begrudging of her loss, while Osaka Naomi, in what should have been the proudest moment of her life, was reduced to tears as she was booed by the crowd. Some critics, like Maureen Callahan at the New York Post, ripped into the whole charade, saying: “It’s hard to recall a more unsportsmanlike event.”
On American news sites, the focus is on Serena Williams. Was she the victim of sexism from referees? I will say that I find it hard to criticize Williams. She had just come off a month where the head of the French Open purposefully singled out her now-famous “catsuit”, an outfit that Williams used to regulate blood flow post-pregnancy, and accused Williams of somehow denigrating tennis. During that entire controversy, Williams was composed to a fault. Indeed, I think she should have gotten more pissed at what was clearly discriminatory rhetoric against a female player. But she held it in…until the US Open, when all that frustration spilled out onto the court.
Additionally, while watching sports commentators at the gym, many seemed to agree that, if this had been one of the male luminaries of the sport, the ref would’ve given them a verbal warning prior to machine-gunning penalties. That’s probably true, and it’s hard to fault Williams for speaking up about a situation that’s likely been festering for the duration of her career.
But, people…none of this is Osaka Naomi’s fault. For her to be booed simply because others were upset about Williams’ loss is shameful, and makes Americans look like a pack of sore losers.
Williams gets kudos for hushing the crowd during the awards ceremony, and reminding them to mind their Ps and Qs. But, sadly, the damage was done. Asahi Shinbun has put up several articles on its site focusing on the brouhaha, and some commentators have made it clear that the atrocious behavior of fans at the match has confirmed their suspicions about Americans:
観衆のマナーの悪さに呆れる。トランプだけではなかった。アメリカファースト🇺🇸(´꒳`)
I’m shocked by the lack of sportsmanship. It’s not just Trump. America First.
But other commenters were just happy to see Osaka win. And one Facebook commenter, Seiji Nitta, captured what I think is the best attitude:
テニス界の大物かも知れないけど、今日の若干ハタチの大坂なおみさんの方が余程スポーツマンシップの鑑だと思った。 結果だけじゃなくてそういった内容を含め心から優勝おめでとう🍾と言いたい。
She [Williams] may be a big shot in the tennis world, but today, I thought the barely 20-year-old Osaka Naomi was the model of sportsmanship. So I celebrate that sportsmanship, and not just her victory, from my heart.
Absolutely. When given the opportunity to speak, Osaka felt like she had to apologize for her win. But she also respectfully thanked the crowd for watching. There was no ego and no grandstanding – just a champion quietly accepting the accolades she’d been given.
Even during the match, Naomi kept her cool – which is what helped lead her to a victory. Asahi interviewed her grandfather, Osaka Tetsuo (小坂鉄夫), who noted that the controversy didn’t seem to faze his niece during the match. Tetsuo credits Naomi’s coach, Sascha Bajin, who taught her the mental side of the game:
あのようなトラブルがあっても、なおみは動揺しなかった。集中力、精神状態をキープできた。これができたから勝たせてもらえた」 。。。 サーシャは精神的にも人間的にもなおみを成長させてくれた。以前のなおみは、動揺して『早くポイントが欲しい』『早く楽になりたい』という気持ちがプレーに出ていたが、今季は慌てないでラリーを続けるようになり、相手がミスをしてくれるようにもなった。
Despite that trouble, Naomi wasn’t flustered. She managed to keep her concentration and determination. That’s why she won. … Sasha helped Naomi mature mentally and as a human being. At first Naomi would get flustered and say, “I wanna get a point quickly,” or, “I wanna win quickly,” but this season she managed to continue to rally without getting flustered, and waited for her opponent to hand her a miss.
That hard-working, patient, mature attitude was on full display at the US Open. So kudos to Sascha Bajin for helping mold a winning player. But even greater kudos to Osaka Naomi, who showed us how a true champion holds her own. I hope she cracks open a bottle of champagne next month when she turns 21, as she’s certainly earned it.
