Naomi Osaka ‘Completely Forgot’ To Congratulate Opponent After Montreal Win

MONTREAL, CANADA – AUGUST 07: Naomi Osaka (R) of Japan congratulates Victoria Mboko of Canada following her victory during the Women’s Singles Final match on day twelve of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open at IGA Stadium on August 7, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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Naomi Osaka caused a stir during her on-court comments following her loss to Victoria Mboko in the final of the National Bank Open Thursday night in Montreal.

Mboko, an 18-year-old Canadian of Congolese descent, came back from a set down to beat Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win the WTA title in her home country.

She then paid homage to Osaka, whom she idolizes.

“First of all, it’s been an incredible week here in Montreal,” she said. “I first want to thank the ball kids and the officials and all the volunteers who helped this week. I also want to thank Naomi for an incredible match. I’ve always looked up to her when I was really little, so it’s always great to play with such an amazing player like you.”

Meantime, Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion, thanked her team, the ball kids, the tournament organizers, and the volunteers, but didn’t say anything about Mboko.

She was ripped on social media as a result.

But Osaka, who has dealt with mental health issues throughout her career, later complimented Mboko when meeting with the media and she said “forgot to congratulate” her.

“I think Victoria played really well,” Osaka said. “I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing, so.”

Osaka was also widely criticized for appearing to quit on the match in the third set.

“I think it’s kind of funny,” she said. “This morning I was very grateful. I don’t know why my emotions flipped so quickly, but I’m really happy to have played the final.”

When Mboko won in Montreal, Ben Shelton was playing Karen Khachanov in the men’s final in Toronto and the Canadian crowd erupted in cheers.

Shelton, who would go on to win his first Masters 1000 title, was uncertain what was going on, and asked the umpire, who told him that Mboko had won.

Shelton then congratulated Mboko on social media.

Meantime, both Osaka and Mboko withdrew from the Cincinnati Open following Montreal and will be replaced by lucky losers.

Both also moved up in the rankings ahead of the U.S. Open. Osaka, who was previously No. 1 in the world in 2019, leaped from No. 49 to No. 25, while Mboko jumped from No. 85 to No. 24.

“Yeah, obviously this tournament went really well,” Osaka said. “It could have went better, but that’s just me being picky.”