Naomi Osaka +16 in rankings as she makes confession about her ‘deadline’ after US Open statement win
Naomi Osaka made a triumphant return to the US Open as she claimed her first win over a top-10 player in more than four years with a confident display against Jelena Ostapenko.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko caused one of the upsets of the US Open last year when she beat defending champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, but Osaka didn’t give her a sniff as the former world No 1 won 6-3, 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The victory has helped the four-time Grand Slam winner to climb 16 places to No 72 in the Live Rankings, her highest position since returning from maternity leave.
This win could well be the beginning of Osaka’s return to the top of the women’s game as she hit 19 winners with only five unforced errors.
After giving birth to daughter Shai in July last year, the 26-year-old set herself some big targets for this year but she made early exits at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
“I went into Australia with a lot of confidence because it’s a hard court, and it didn’t go my way there. Obviously, I don’t know clay or grass that well, so it kind of shook me up a lot,” Osaka said.
“I wish I could have done better in Toronto and Cincinnati. Now I feel like I’m just here. It’s almost the end of, well, it is the end of the year, but I told myself, like, I would make, like, my last stand if I could in the US Open and the Asian swing.
“So, yeah, it’s almost like you have a deadline and you’re crunching at midnight to try to make it.”
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Osaka is now 19-15 for the year and with the US Open her 15th tournament for the 2024 campaign. She has suffered a string of early exits, but she is seeing her glass as half full after those defeats.
“I’m really glad that I played all of the tournaments this year, even though the results haven’t been that great,” she explained.
“I feel like I could draw from each of those matches. And over time, I know even though I lost in the qualies of Cincy, I kind of gained confidence in myself in a weird way because for me, that was like the worst possible outcome of my career.
“I would definitely say I’m not sure if it’s motivation or if I feel like I have no other choice but to play well. And then it gets rid of all the expectations and all the pressure I put on myself because I know, like, no matter what, the tennis is going to be really great tennis, even if I win or lose.
“That’s kind of my mindset whenever I play seated players or really good players.”
That mindset will be key when she faces Karolina Muchova in the second round at Flushing Meadows.
