Naomi Osaka has reached her first major quarterfinal for the reason that 2021 Australian Open, however her return to relevancy wasn’t out of the blue.
The Japanese star endured a protracted and arduous path again to the highest over the previous few years, which included getting into Challenger tournaments and ATP 250 occasions she would have by no means performed in throughout her prime years.
After sitting out the complete 2023 season (maternity go away), she struggled to seek out her type final 12 months, struggling first-round exits on the Australian Open and Abu Dhabi, and second-round losses at Brisbane, Madrid, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open. By means of all of it, the previous World No. 1 stored her head excessive and a smile on her face, regardless that she wasn’t accustomed to such underwhelming performances at occasions she as soon as dominated.
Osaka knew she wanted to place within the reps to finally problem the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, and was unwavering in her dedication.
This season, she started to show the tide — slowly however absolutely. She began the 12 months by reaching the ultimate in Auckland, adopted by a third-round look on the Australian Open and a quarterfinal end in Miami. In April, she shocked the world by getting into a Challenger event in Saint-Malo, France — the sort of occasion often reserved for gamers ranked outdoors the highest 100. Osaka — a four-time main winner — wasn’t too proud to compete towards lower-ranked opponents, as she gained her first title since 2021.
The choice paid dividends as Osaka reached the fourth spherical on the ensuing occasion in Rome and confirmed flashes of her previous self by reaching the third spherical at Wimbledon. The icing on the cake got here at Montreal, the place she reached the ultimate of a WTA 1000 occasion for the primary time for the reason that 2022 Miami Open. And now, on the U.S. Open, she’s three wins away from profitable her first main title in over 4 years.
Osaka did not take shortcuts again to the highest. As an alternative, she floor her approach by way of irrelevance to achieve her desired stage. Make no mistake — she’s nonetheless not the participant who dominated the Tour between 2018 and 2021, however is significantly higher than the one who struggled a 12 months in the past. There isn’t any higher proof of that than her win/loss document. Final 12 months, she completed 22-18, marking her lowest win proportion since 2017. This 12 months, she improved to 30-12 with the win over Gauff on Monday.
