Naomi Osaka
confirmed her second-round showdown against
Elina Svitolina at the
Miami Open,
and fans reacted after she was asked about the "battle of the moms"
once again.
The former
world No. 1 returned at the beginning of the season after more than a year of
absence and became a mother to her daughter Shai in July 2023. She's not the
only mother on the Tour, and the topic has constantly prompted questions,
something that is once again happening ahead of the match with Svitolina, who
became a mother in October 2022 and returned in 2023, displaying strong
performances that have comfortably placed her in the top 20 without playing too
many tournaments.
In her
first-round match, Naomi Osaka defeated
Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4,
securing her spot in the second round of the WTA 1000. During the on-court
interview, the 4-time Grand Slam champion responded to the question about the
"battle of the moms":
“
@naomiosaka weighs in on the "battle of
the moms" in her R2 opponent, Elina Svitolina,” wrote the WTA account in
X.
"I was
watching her [Svitolina] last year and I was admiring all her runs in Wimbledon
and it's going to be I guess a really incredible honor to play against her. So
I guess, I'll see when that happens" Osaka said.
Several
fans reacted on social media to the question. According to their comments,
tennis players like Osaka and Svitolina receive too many questions about
motherhood, and they hope to be asked more directly about tennis. Here
are some fan reactions you can find:
“We are
literally begging y'all to stop obsessing over their motherhood. We are
thrilled to have them on tour and doing well but can you give them a chance to
mention it first?! Focus on the policies they are requesting.”
“I have never
once seen any tennis organization refer to, say, taylor, as a father
unprompted... hate this so much”
“Try not to
mention them being mothers every two seconds. I’m sure just like us, the
players would appreciate it if y’all talked about something else for once.”