Australian Open ballgirl goes global after tweet from Naomi Osaka

An Australian Open ballgirl from Berwick received the biggest shock of her life during school lunch after a message from champion Naomi Osaka.

Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka. Picture: AFP

A 16-year-old ballgirl has unwittingly become part of Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open title-winning celebrations.

And it never would have happened if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marle van der Merwe received the shock of her life during her lunch break at Berwick College on Thursday, when her mum, Helouise, sent her a text message with a link to an Osaka tweet.

Osaka was trawling through photos of her Melbourne Park triumph on Saturday night, only to stumble across one where a ballgirl is grinning from ear to ear in the background.

The ballgirl, of course, was Marle, who was kneeling next to the chair umpire as the dual Australian Open champion turned to the crowd and raised her arms in elation.

Naomi Osaka celebrates her Australian Open title on Saturday night, with smiling ballgirl Marle van der Merwe looking just as pleased. Picture: Getty Images

Osaka loved the photo so much she tweeted it to her 900,000 followers, complete with waving and heart emoticons. The tweet is already on its way to viral status.

“It was very special – no player ever does that,” Marle told the Herald Sun of Osaka’s tweet.

“I was with my friends at lunch and saw the link. Mum just sent me the link to the Twitter post she made and I clicked on it and was pretty shocked.”

Marle, who lives in Officer, in Melbourne’s southeast, said the photo would now almost certainly take pride of place on her bedroom wall.

Was looking at pics from AO and I just noticed the ballgirl in this 👋🏾🥺❤️ hi pic.twitter.com/7SHNKQdKqg

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 25, 2021

The teenager also guided Osaka into the right spot for the champion’s annual photo with the ballkids, after being unsure where to stand.

“It’s very special, because you’re in the same room as a grand slam champion and sitting right next to them, so it’s very cool,” Marle said.

Watching the 2016 Australian Open finals inspired her to tryout as a ballkid, and she’s been working at the event every year since.

Last year’s tournament was supposed to be Marle’s swan song, because she had reached the age limit of 15 – but the coronavirus circumstances changed all that.

“They weren’t able to train any new ballkids, because of COVID, so they got some of the older kids back and I was one of them, so I got another chance,” she said.

“To anyone thinking about whether they should become a ballkid, they definitely should. It’s a great experience and you make lifelong friends.”

The family tradition will continue with Marle’s 13-year-old sister, Anine, who was also a ballkid at this year’s Australian Open.