Umpire Urges Influencers Not to Take Pictures with Lights During Naomi Osaka US Open Match

Naomi Osaka survived a scare in the first round of the US Open as both sets were pushed to tie-breaks. She faced Anastasia Zakharova and beat her with a 7-6(6), 7-6(3) scoreline.

Before the match, Osaka walked onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium in an outfit inspired by NBA great Allen Iverson, donning a long white skirt and a white hoodie. Underneath, Osaka wore a black Nike outfit, and her hair was styled in cornrows.

During the match, Osaka, while serving at 40-40 in the fourth game, had to wait because a group of influencers was taking pictures with lights and talking. The chair umpire told them:

Guys, please, in the suite behind me, please, thank you guys, please take your seat.

Osaka is chasing her third title at the US Open. She has been enjoying decent form this season and has also made deep runs in the two events she played on the North American hardcourt swing.

She reached the semifinal of the Citi Open, where eventual champion Alexandra Eala defeated her. Then she made the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open, losing to eventual runner-up Elena Rybakina. Osaka, however, skipped the Cincinnati Open.

She has already played one final this season. During the grass swing, the four-time Grand Slam champion reached her career’s first final on the surface at the Bad Homburg Open but was forced to hand the walkover to Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova.

Naomi Osaka reflects on her match against Anastasia Zakharova

Anastasia Zakharova made her second appearance at the US Open after making her debut last year. All of her campaigns in Majors this year ended in the first round. Naomi Osaka faced the Russian ace for the first time in her career. At the press conference later, she reflected on her win and also talked about her outfit.

I mean, I wouldn’t be like so arrogant to say it was like just me. I think she was playing really well, and I’ve obviously never played her, so it was kind of hard to like understand her patterns a little bit. But I think on my end, I just was like so nervous. I think in certain situations I wasn’t serving well, and then obviously I felt like she was a lot more aggressive than me and, like, risk-taking.

Osaka will next be locking horns with Katerina Siniakova in the second round. She will be facing the Czech ace for the fourth time in her career. Osaka holds a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head matchups.

I mean, like, obviously the inspiration is Allen Iverson. I think, for me, he’s a trailblazer. He’s someone that was able to merge culture and sport. And he’s very famous for that. And also I just really appreciate his style. So yeah, I mean, that’s kind of like what I tried to embody, and obviously I had a lot of fun with that design process and just coming up with the creative for it.

Naomi Osaka added

Osaka last won a title at the 2021 Australian Open. At Flushing Meadows back in 2018, she won her career’s first Grand Slam title by defeating 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams. She doubled her tally in 2020 by beating Victoria Azarenka.

This year in the Majors, the 28-year-old lost in the third round of the Australian Open, the fourth round of the French Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Last year at the US Open, her campaign ended in the semifinals.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is competing as the defending champion. Sabalenka, who beat Amanda Anisimova last year, will lose her No.1 position if she fails to complete the three-peat.

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