Djokovic's wife rarely steps in to criticize players personally: "No respect at all!"

The dispute between Kostyuk and Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open has yet to settle. Kostyuk expressed displeasure by frequently yelling "come on" at Osaka during the match, resulting in a chilly handshake afterward. Osaka replied with a casual "whatever" in her post-match interview. One day after the controversial game, Djokovic's wife Jelena weighed in, criticizing both Osaka and the referee.

This was Kostyuk's final appearance at the Australian Open. During the match, she was already irritated by Osaka’s constant self-encouragement before her serves. The real spark for the conflict came in the deciding set: when trailing 2-4, Kostyuk complained to the chair umpire that Osaka’s loud self-cheering was distracting her, but the umpire dismissed her complaint.

Jelena Djokovic was clearly unhappy with this ruling and publicly condemned both the player and the umpire, believing that such "disrespectful" behavior was being tolerated.

“Well, I’m surprised this wasn’t called a hindrance. Between two serves, if the crowd claps or shouts, the umpire usually asks for silence because it disrupts the players. At this moment, the point wasn’t over. Sorana had just missed her first serve and was focusing on her second serve—that was a brief pause. Also, applauding after someone’s first serve error is itself disrespectful. I’m shocked the umpire and Osaka thought this was fair?! Did I miss some rule change?”

Although Osaka and the chair umpire believed her loud celebration was acceptable, Kostyuk did not quietly leave the court. While post-match handshakes are usually routine, on the fifth day of the Australian Open, the atmosphere was tense. Kostyuk made her dissatisfaction clear to both her opponent and the umpire, feeling the decision was unfair. The situation worsened as Osaka continued the heated exchange during her post-match interview.

Naomi Osaka rarely gets involved in controversies, but the fifth day of the Australian Open was different for her. Kostyuk accused her of misconduct, while Osaka insisted she did nothing wrong and had the umpire’s approval. “You ask me why? Because, my friend, you don’t understand what fair play means.” After a rushed handshake, Kostyuk said, “You’ve played tennis for so many years but still don’t know what fair play is.”

Osaka was also unhappy with the unpleasant handshake and post-match interaction, and it seemed she carried that mood into her on-court interview. When asked how she defeated the Romanian player, Osaka took the opportunity to tease Kostyuk, prompting laughter from the crowd: “Obviously, it was all those ‘come on’ shouts that made her angry, but whatever.”

However, Osaka later clarified in the interview that her earlier words were somewhat disrespectful. “I don’t like disrespecting others; that’s not my style.” She also added, ahead of her third-round match against Ingles, that she wasn’t trying to “disturb” her opponent but was merely encouraging herself.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Spark)