The 20-year-old, who is of Haitian and Japanese descent, became the first-ever Japanese-born Grand Slam champion Saturday after defeating her idol, Serena Williams. Her victory, however, came amid a firestorm of controversy after Williams angrily confronted chair umpire Carlos Ramos and received three code violations.
By the time a tearful Osaka appeared for the trophy ceremony, the crowd loudly booed ― prompting Williams to embrace her young rival and whisper into her ear.
“She said that she was proud of me and that I should know that the crowd wasn’t booing at me,” Osaka told DeGeneres. “At the time, I did … think that they were booing at me. I couldn’t tell what was going on, because it was just so loud in there. It was a little bit stressful.”
Elsewhere in the interview, DeGeneres got Osaka to reveal her celebrity crush, who happens to be “Black Panther” star Michael B. Jordan. True to form, the host proceeded to snap a selfie with the tennis player and texted it to Jordan on the air.
“You’re stressing me out,” Osaka quipped, somewhat sheepishly. “I’m too young to be stressed out like this.”
Only time will tell if DeGeneres’ matchmaking efforts prove successful. Nonetheless, she reassured Osaka, “The world is your oyster right now. You’re adorable.”
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost
