"Embarrassing that Nick Kyrgios was there" - Naomi Osaka reveals how she feels about Aussie's presence in her Wimbledon player's box

Naomi Osaka cruised through her opening round at Wimbledon on Monday, and Nick Kyrgios was there to cheer for her. After her match, the Japanese tennis star shared how she felt about the Aussie’s presence in her player's box.

Osaka took on Talia Gibson for her first round match at the Wimbledon championships. The duo had never played each other prior to their encounter in England, and their battle on Monday provided audiences with some intense action. In the end, it was Osaka who emerged victorious, clinching a 6-4, 7-6(4) win.

In her post match press conference, Naomi Osaka was told that Nick Kyrgios had been in her player's box during the game, and the four-time Grand Slam champion expressed her surprise about the same. She went on to say,

“I jokingly told someone, ‘Hey, I know Nick’s around. Maybe he wants to come to my match.’ But I was joking. Because I know we’re like 2 completely different players. Honestly I would’ve loved to come to his matches because I know he’s pretty fun. I think that’s also a big part of why we’re different. I know he kind of tells his box what to do and he probably would’ve noticed if I was in there, and I kind of like zone out most of the time. That’s a little embarrassing that he was there. But yeah, I guess it was cool that he was there.”

Osaka went on to add that she hoped Kyrgios could ‘relate’ to the things she does, saying,

“I am glad he came to my match. I hope in some way maybe he felt.. I wouldn’t be bold enough to say ‘inspired,’ but I hope he can relate a little bit to the things I do too.”

Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios are good friends on and off the court, and the duo will be pairing up for the mixed doubles event at the US Open later this year.

Naomi Osaka faces potential run in against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in Wimbledon round two

Osaka at Wimbledon 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

Naomi Osaka clinched an impressive win over Australia’s Talia Gibson in her opening round at the Wimbledon Championships, but her path ahead looks to be trickier.

For her second round match, Osaka will run into either reigning Olympic champion and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen or World No.81 Katerina Siniakova. The duo are scheduled to battle on Tuesday, with Qinwen remaining a heavy favorite for the win.

Osaka and Qinwen have battled each other thrice over the course of their careers, with the latter having won a majority of their matches, including their most recent encounter. The last time Osaka beat her Chinese rival was in 2022.

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Edited by Riddhi Acharya