Naomi Osaka found herself in the midst of a controversy following a heated exchange with Sorana Cîrstea after her second-round match at the 2026 Australian Open. Just days after her confrontation with the Romanian, Osaka was taught how to stand on business by Taylor Townsend.
Osaka was seeded 16th at the Melbourne Major, and she began her campaign by defeating Antonia Ružić with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round. She faced Cîrstea in the second round and eliminated her with a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. However, the former World No. 1’s run in the tournament ended in the third round, when she withdrew from her match against qualifier Maddison Inglis due to a left abdominal injury.
Taylor Townsend Teaches Naomi Osaka To ‘Stand on Business’ Following Australian Open Confrontation
During the second-round match, Osaka and Cîrstea engaged in a heated exchange when the former world No. 1 shouted “Come on!” between points. This irritated the Romanian player, who, after the match, had some strong words for Osaka at the net. As a result, the Japanese lost her composure during her on-court interview.
At the post-match press conference, Osaka clarified her earlier comments made during the on-court interview, stating that they were “disrespectful.”
A few days after the Osaka-Cîrstea incident, Townsend took to social media and shared a hilarious video in which she can be seen teaching the four-time Grand Slam champion how to “stand on business,” a reference to Osaka’s subsequent backtracking on her comments about Cîrstea.
“Accepting applications for “TT’s Stand on Business” class 📚 @naomiosaka is my first student 😂 💙 🫂,” Townsend
View this post on Instagram
Meanwhile, Townsend competed in all three events at the 2026 Australian Open: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. In the singles event, she defeated Nao Hibino, Jazmín Ortenzi, and Storm Hunter in the qualifying rounds to advance to the main draw, where she lost in the first round to compatriot Hailey Baptiste.
In the doubles event, Townsend partnered with Kateřina Siniaková. They were the defending champions and top seeds, defeating Magali Kempen and Anna Sisková in the first round, then beating Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan in the second round.
The defending champion advanced to the quarterfinals with a walkover after their third-round opponents, the 15th-seeded duo of Miyu Kato and Fanny Stollár, withdrew. However, their title defense ended in the quarterfinals when they were eliminated by the seventh-seeded pair of Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunić.
In the mixed doubles event at the Australian Open, Townsend teamed up with Nikola Mektić, and they were seeded fourth. The pair reached the semifinals before losing to the defending champions, Olivia Gadecki and John Peers.
