NEW YORK – Naomi Osaka returned to the third round of the US Open for the first time since 2021, the year after winning her second championship with the Flushing Meadows.
She’s now playing pretty well under the guidance of a new coach. Don’t expect to weigh in on whether Osaka feels as though it’s ready for another deep run at that location.
“To be honest, I really don’t know. I don’t make anything I know anymore into my business. I’ll leave it in the air for a bit,” said 23rd Seed Osaka after eliminating Hailey Baptist 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday, just 70 minutes. “For me, I realized I did everything I could. I trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If that happens, it happens.”
All four Grand Slam trophies in Osaka have arrived on the hard court. Two are the US Open and two are the Australian Open. Since her 2020 title in New York, her trip has ended with losses in the third round (2021), first round (2022), and second round (2024).
The surface tends to prefer the big serves and powerful first strike tennis, which Osaka is best known for. She showed it to Baptist, but she also showed an willingness to change speed and spin.
So far this week, the other talent that Osaka has used to make a big impact is the return to win opponents on defense.
After the third exit at Wimbledon last month, Osaka split from manager Patrick Mouratogrow and began working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who was once part of Iga Swiatek’s team.
One key, Osaka said: Wiktorowski encouraged her to focus more on the placement of her shots.
They appear to be making quick progress – and Osaka said his impression changed quickly.
“To be honest, I didn’t know him. He thought he was very scared. “Now we work together, so you can see that he smiles frequently. He has a very gentle smile. It’s very nice. That’s my little fun fact about Thomas.”