‘You can’t be talking out loud’: Navratilova slams Naomi Osaka’s ‘C’mon’ shouts in heated Cirstea Australian Open clash

4 days ago 10

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Australian Open 2026: Martina Navratilova slammed Naomi Osaka's on-court behaviour during her second-round clash against Sorana Cirstea. (AP Photo)

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova criticised Japanese star Naomi Osaka’s on-field behaviour during her second-round win over Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open on Thursday. Osaka’s repeated ‘C’mon’ shouts between the first and second serves of Cirstea had left the 35-year-old Romanian visibly upset, and Navratilova said it was not acceptable conduct on the 16th-seeded Osaka’s part.

Osaka and Cirstea played out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 game that ended in the former’s favour at Margaret Court Arena before the pair exchanged a fleeting handshake over the net.

Cirstea then threw daggers at Osaka with a look before turning her head away. This got even Osaka intrigued and as they walked toward the umpire’s chair, Osaka asked, “What was that for?”

Sorana Cirstea wasn't a fan of Naomi Osaka hyping herself up 😳 pic.twitter.com/XPSsNLNQPn

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 22, 2026

Cirstea responded directly to the two-time Australian Open winner, upset with the Japanese ace’s efforts to pump herself up at stages during the match.

“Apparently a lot of ‘C’mons’ that she was angry about but whatever. I think this was her last Australian Open so, OK, sorry she was mad about it,” Osaka said at her post-match interview when asked about the frosty exchange at the net.

Navratilova said that though she could relate to Osaka’s immediate reaction to Cirstea’s cold handshake post the match, it did not redeem her gestures during the match.

‘Keep it inside’

“I can get what she said after the match because it was just this heat of the moment. She was surprised by Cirstea’s reaction at the handshake,” Navratilova said on Tennis Channel.

“You can’t yell out in between serves.”

Full analysis of the Osaka-Cirstea argument ⤵️#AO26 pic.twitter.com/Vlaw9t4xze

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 22, 2026

“You cannot be talking out loud between first and second serves of your opponent. Cirstea was ready to hit the second serve when Osaka says, ‘Come on!’ That’s not right. I don’t think she did it on purpose. She didn’t realize it. You can say ‘Come on!’ all you want, but keep it inside,” the 18-time Grand Slams singles winner remarked.

Osaka issues apology

Speaking to reporters later on, Osaka issued an apology for immediate on-court response and said that she wanted to extend an apology for her words but not for her repeated gesture during the match.

It's not very clear who says "C'mon" between serves, but if it's Osaka then Sorana is right, that's very poor sportsmanship from Osaka. pic.twitter.com/l5KIJc0GFZ

— Lorena Popa 🕵️‍♀️🎾 (@popalorena) January 22, 2026

“I get that emotions were very high for her and I also want to apologize. I think the first couple things I said on the court were disrespectful and I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do,” Osaka said.

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“If she wants to talk about it, then yeah, but when I’m pumping myself up, in my head I’m not like, ‘Okay and now I’m going to distract the other person.’ It’s purely for me,” she added.

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