Serena Williams wrote to Naomi Osaka to 'find peace' after US Open final
Serena Williams says she sent an apology to Naomi Osaka for her behavior in last year’s US Open final. Osaka, who was 20 at the time, won her first grand slam title against Williams but the result was overshadowed by a dispute between the American and the chair umpire.
Williams, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday, said in an essay for Harper’s Bazaar that she wrote to Osaka after not being able to “find peace.”
The 37-year-old adds that her discomfort about the US Open final “wasn’t because of the backlash I faced but rather because of what had happened to the young woman who deserved so much more in her special moment.”
Williams says the incident caused introspection on her part. “I started seeing a therapist,” she writes in the article, which was published on Tuesday. “I was searching for answers, and although I felt like I was making progress, I still wasn’t ready to pick up a racket. Finally I realized that there was only one way for me to move forward. It was time for me to apologize to the person who deserved it the most.”
Williams says she told the Japanese player she was a fan and that she was “truly sorry.” Osaka answered the message, and Williams says “when Naomi’s response came through, tears rolled down my face.” According to Williams, Osaka told her that “people can misunderstand anger for strength because they can’t differentiate between the two.”
Williams was given three code violations by chair umpire Carlos Ramos in the US Open final, resulting in the loss of a game. The first came as a result of what Ramos deemed coaching from her box. The second was for smashing her racket, costing her a point. And the third came after she called Ramos “a thief.”