Three weeks on from one of the most disappointing evenings of her career in Montreal, where the positivity surrounding her progress was overshadowed by controversy, Naomi Osaka provided further evidence that she is on the right path as she reached the third round of the US Open with an efficient 6-3, 6-1 win over Hailey Baptiste of the United States.
Despite being the most recent female player to win multiple US Open titles, Osaka returned to New York this year in a curious position. Earlier this month, she won six matches en route to her first WTA 1000 final since giving birth to her daughter, Shai, and then returning from maternity leave in January 2024.
What should have been a significant, long-awaited breakthrough for Osaka turned into a painful evening after she fell apart in the final against Victoria Mboko and then was widely criticised for failing to congratulate the 18-year-old in her runner-up speech. Osaka said she contacted Mboko afterwards, who told her she did not notice Osaka’s omission.
Instead of positively reflecting on her excellent performances, Osaka said she spent the days after Montreal processing her guilt. “I just felt really bad and, like, shame,” she said. “I think I felt worse for my team, because we couldn’t really celebrate properly. They were with me this entire time, so they knew how big of a deal the final was.”
While many thought those difficulties could have halted Osaka’s momentum on the court, she has performed well in her two matches this week, striking the ball cleanly while showcasing her improved movement. She has now won eight of her last nine matches since hiring Tomasz Wiktorowski, the former coach of Iga Swiatek. She will face either Daria Kasatkina, the 15th seed, or Kamilla Rakhimova as she attempts to reach the fourth round of a grand slam tournament for the first time since winning the Australian Open title in 2021.
After her match, Osaka also waded into the debate over Jelena Ostapenko’s comments towards Taylor Townsend after the contentious end to their match on Wednesday. Townsend did not apologise after a fortunate net cord, prompting Ostapenko to accuse her of having “no education” and “no class”.
Osaka said: “It’s really difficult to say, I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport. And granted, I know Taylor and I know how hard she’s worked and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that.
“But if you’re genuinely asking me about the history of Ostapenko, I don’t think that’s the craziest thing she’s said. I’m going to be honest. I think it’s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to. And I don’t know if she knows the history of it in America.”
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Elsewhere, the men’s top seed, Jannik Sinner, continued to build momentum in his title defence by easing into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over the big-serving Australian Alexei Popyrin. Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, held her nerve at the end of an intense battle to close out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win after an impressive fight from Suzan Lamens.
Venus Williams returned to the court to pick up a win in the doubles, pairing up with the 2021 singles runner-up Leylah Fernandez to defeat the sixth seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.
