Naomi Osaka gives unexpected shoutout to Rafael Nadal after 1st clay title win at Saint-Malo Open

Naomi Osaka, former World No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam winner, gave a memorable shoutout to Spanish great Rafael Nadal after clinching her first clay title at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint Malo, France, last week. Nadal, a 14-time Roland Garros champion, is widely regarded as the greatest player on the surface.

After defeating Slovenia's Kaja Juvan 6-1, 7-5 in the decider, Osaka joked that she was so hungry, she could eat the trophy. She then proceeded to pick the trophy up and bite its handle, striking a pose similar to the one immortalized by Nadal.

"Tastes like victory," she noted immediately afterward.

The moment was seen as a nod to Spanish great Rafael Nadal, who would go on to "bite" the trophies after some of his most memorable triumphs. Having struggled with injuries throughout 2023, the Spaniard retired from the sport in 2024 with 22 Grand Slam titles to his name.

Despite struggles with form and motivation in recent years, Naomi Osaka is making a steady comeback to tennis. After her latest triumph, the Japanese star has risen seven spots to No. 48 in the WTA rankings. At the Australian Open, two-time champion Osaka made it to the third round, where she lost to the also-returning Belinda Bencic due to a walkover.

Naomi Osaka's coach has backed her to continue doing well on clay

Naomi Osaka interacts with Mouratoglou at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou has spoken optimistically about the Japanese star's chances on the red dirt after her maiden tournament win on the surface.

"I think it's just the fact that she's never spent enough time on this surface," he told Tennis Majors. "And that, historically, because she didn't spend much time on the surface, she had a lot of losses there, so she probably thought her game wasn't suited to clay. But there's no obvious reason for her not to play well on this surface. So it was important to make a big block on clay. We did that. And it was important to have enough matches and positives on the surface. And that was done too. So I think she's now ready to play her best tennis on clay."

Notably, Osaka's triumph at Saint-Malo has ended a four-year trophy drought for the former No. 1. She remarked on the irony of ending the drought on clay, which has been considered her worst surface.

"Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst. That’s one of my favorite things about life though, there’s always room to grow and evolve," Osaka wrote on X.

Osaka's best result at the French Open was making the third round in 2016, 2018, and 2019. She is set to continue her clay season at the ongoing Italian Open, where she has been pitted against home favorite Sara Errani in the first round.