The Serena question that made Osaka break down

Tournament champion Naomi Osaka couldn’t handle a tricky question in her post-US Open final press conference.

The 20-year-old star from Japan had just won her first ever Grand Slam, but it was a night unfortunately dominated by sadness and tears, as she saw her idol Serena Williams melt down in a battle with the umpire.

Following her two-set victory in New York, Osaka apologised to fans, as she held back tears.

“I know everyone was cheering for her and I’m sorry it had to end like this,” Osaka said.

“It was always my dream to play Serena in the U.S. Open finals. … I’m really grateful I was able to play with you.”

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The reaction was heartbreaking to many tennis fans and experts, in what should have been the proudest moment of the hard-hitting youngster’s life, she felt the need to apologise.

One journalist was clearly confused by Osaka’s thought process, and posed a tricky question to the star who’d just earned a AU$5.3m winner’s check.

“Why did you feel like you needed to apologise for doing what you set out to do?” The journalist asked.

“Your question is making me emotional,” Osaka said before a pause.

“OK, because I know she really wanted to ave the 24th Grand Slam, right? Everyone knows this: It’s on the commercials, it’s everywhere.

“When I step onto the court, I feel like a different person, right? I’m not a Serena fan: I’m just a tennis player playing another tennis player.

“But then when I hugged her at the net … anyway, when I hugged her at the net, I felt like a little kid again, so, sorry…”

At that point Osaka couldn’t hold back the tears.

Thankfully it wasn’t all sadness for the Grand Slam winner, as she also shared a number of jokes with reporters in the post-match press conference.

At one point Osaka tricked a reporter into thinking she was named based on the city she was born in.

The Japanese star doesn’t think any less of her tennis hero despite the drama of the US Open final.

“The thing is, like, I don’t know what happened on the court. So for me, I’m always going to remember the Serena that I love,” Osaka said.

“It doesn’t change anything for me. She was really nice to me, like, at the net and on the podium. I don’t really see what would change,” said Osaka, who has long looked up to Williams.

“When I was growing up, I did a whole report on her in third grade. I coloured it and everything. I said, ‘I want to be like her.’ [I might still have it] in a folder at home or something. I’m not sure.”