Naomi Osaka revealed beating Serena Williams and Venus Williams was “a bit out of body experience” as she felt like she watching herself on TV but also sad at the same time for beating her idols despite knowing that the Williams sisters likely wouldn’t feel that way had they beaten her.
Osaka, who is now 26 years old, impressively managed to beat both Serena and Venus very early in her career.
In her very first match against Serena, Osaka played lights out as she ousted her idol 6-3 6-2 in the 2018 Miami Open first round. A couple of months later, Osaka won her first Grand Slam title in a very impressive way after stunning Serena 6-2 6-4 in the 2018 US Open final.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams © Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
Before playing Serena for the first time, Osaka already met Venus twice. After losing in their first match at 2017 Wimbledon, Osaka got her revenge by beating the seven-time Grand Slam champion 7-5 6-2 in 2017 October.
On the latest edition of Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, Osaka was the guest and Kyrgios asked her to reveal how it felt for her to beat her tennis idols.
Osaka on beating her idols Serena and Venus Williams
“I’m not sure because I feel like growing up I dreamed the moment so many times and then to finally experience it in real life, it kind of felt like I was watching myself on TV. Yeah, so a bit out of body. But also, I don’t know, a little sad because I felt kind of sad for them. Like I’m sure they were going to feel sad losing to me because I was kind of a nobody at that moment,” Osaka told Kyrgios.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams © Getty Images Sport – Chris Trotman
Against Serena, Osaka played four times and ended up with a 3-1 head-to-head record against the former 23-time Grand Slam champion. In 2019, Williams clinched her first and lone win over Osaka before the Japanese won their fourth and final meeting in the 2021 Australian Open semifinal.
When it comes to the head-to-head against Venus, it stands at 1-1 since they haven’t played since their 2017 Hong Kong meeting. Since Venus is still active, there is still a chance Osaka gets to play one of her idols at least one more time.
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