'Didn't even say congrats': Mum's funny reaction to Osaka triumph
Naomi Osaka has revealed why her mum wasn’t too pleased with her after her Australian Open triumph.
After her media commitments were done and dusted late on Saturday night, Osaka found a moment to call her mother back home in the US.
But mum Tamaki didn’t want a bar of it, instead telling Osaka she needed to go to bed.
“I called my mum after I did all the press,” Osaka told the WTA Insider Podcast.
“She didn’t even say congratulations. She just yelled at me to go to sleep. So I felt really loved.
“And then I called my sister when I got back to the hotel. She was really happy for me, so that was really … I really love talking to my sister.”
Osaka said her parents are usually the last to pump up her tyres, which probably explains her stoic demeanour.
“I guess for me if my mum calls me and she’s excited, that would be the most happiest moment for me, and also my dad (Leonard Francois) … he doesn’t say anything,” she said.
Osaka officially World No.1
Osaka is officially the first Asian player in tennis history to become World No.1, after the WTA rankings were updated on Monday.
Osaka climbed three places after beating Petra Kvitova in the final at Melbourne Park, while Kvitova moved up four places to No.2.
The 21-year-old Japanese player has only won three career titles, but those include the last two majors, after she won the US Open in September.
Former World No.1 Simona Halep, knocked out by Serena Williams in the round of 16 in Melbourne, fell two spots to third.
Caroline Wozniacki, whose defence of her Australian Open title ended in the third round, fell six places to ninth.
The biggest rise of the week was by the 25-year-old American Danielle Collins, who leaped 12 places to 23rd after her run to the semi-finals.
The other semi-finalist, Karolina Pliskova, gained three places to fifth in the world.
Williams, who fell to 491 after her maternity break last year, continued her rise, gaining five places to 11th.
Latest WTA rankings:
1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts (+3)
2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 (+4)
3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2)
4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 (+1)
5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 (+3)
6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4)
7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940
8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 (+1)
9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6)
10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 (+1)
11. Serena Williams (USA) 3,406 (+5)
12. Darya Kasatkina (RUS) 3,355 (-2)
13. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 3,330 (-1)
14. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 3,285 (+1)
15. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 3,035 (+3)
16. Julia Goerges (GER) 2,995 (-3)
17. Madison Keys (USA) 2,786
18. Wang Kiang (CHN) 2,605 (+3)
19. Caroline Garcia (FRA) 2,550
20. Anett Kontaveit (EST) 2,355
with AFP
