Naomi Osaka rues missing out on final Labubu after US Open exit
Japanese superstar, who lost her semi-final, had been carrying a different version of the popular plush toy to each of her matches
Naomi Osaka’s final Labubu at the US Open was going to be Osaka herself.
For Osaka, that was the real bummer about losing one match short of the final.
“Oh, don’t make me cry, man,” the four-time grand slam champion said during her press conference early Friday morning after her 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 semi-final loss to Amanda Anisimova.
“Oh my God, the most devastating question.”
Osaka had been toting a different version of the popular plush toy attached to her racquet bag to each of her matches in Flushing Meadows.
She gave them catchy names such as Billie Jean Bling (for tennis legend Billie Jean King), Althea Glitterson (a tribute to Althea Gibson, who in 1950 became the first Black player at a major tennis tournament) and Arthur Flashe (as in Arthur Ashe, for whom the main US Open stadium is named).