Even though Naomi Osaka knew the Williams sisters probably wouldn’t have felt that way if they had defeated her, she said that defeating Venus and Serena Williams was “a bit out of body experience,” making her feel like she was watching herself on TV and heartbroken at the same time for defeating her idols.
The 26-year-old Osaka stunned everyone by defeating Venus and Serena at a very young age in her career. In the first round of the 2018 Miami Open, Osaka defeated her idol, Serena, 6-3, 6-2, playing a brilliant match in her debut against the tennis star. A few months later, Osaka defeated Serena 6-2, 6-4 in the 2018 US Open final to win her first Grand Slam victory in a very remarkable fashion.In the first round of the 2018 Miami Open, Osaka defeated her idol, Serena, 6-3, 6-2, playing a brilliant match in her debut against the tennis star. A few months later, Osaka defeated Serena 6-2, 6-4 in the 2018 US Open final to win her first Grand Slam victory in a very remarkable fashion.
When Osaka appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, Kyrgios invited her to share her thoughts on defeating her tennis idols.
Osaka on defeating Venus and Serena Williams, her idols
“I’m not sure since it seemed like I was watching myself on TV when I actually experienced the moment in real life, even though I had fantasized about it a lot as a child. Yes, somewhat disoriented. However, I was also, I don’t know, a little depressed because I felt bad for them. Osaka said to Kyrgios, “I’m sure they were going to feel sad losing to me because I was kind of a nobody at that moment.
“Osaka played four matches versus Serena and finished with a 3-1 head-to-head record against the 23-time Grand Slam champion. Before Osaka defeated her in their fourth and final meeting in the Australian Open quarterfinal of 2021, Williams had won her only and first match against the Japanese in 2019.The head-to-head against Venus is now 1-1 because they haven’t faced each other since their meeting in Hong Kong in 2017. Venus is still in motion, so Osaka may yet get to play one of her idols at least once more.
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