Osaka defeated Karolina Muchova to make her first Grand Slam semifinal since returning to tennis as a mother.
Archive of posts tagged Osaka
Naomi Shines – In Montreal, Osaka Reaches Biggest Final Since 2022
By Chris Oddo | Wednesday August 6, 2025
It is Naomi Osaka’s time to shine once again. Back on her beloved hard courts, the four-time major champion has found her mojo and reeled off six consecutive victories to reach her biggest final since she played the Miami Open final in the spring of 2022.
Osaka edged past rising Dane Clara Tauson, 6-2 7-6(7) to book a date in the final with 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who earlier saved a match point to oust Elena Rybakina in three dramatic sets.
Osaka reaches her fifth WTA 1000 final and her first at Montreal.
Osaka saved seven of nine break points, and converted four of five of her own, but her night got tricky in the second set when Tauson, bidding for her second 1000 final of the year, twice rallied from a break down to level the second set.
The Dane held her own from 4-4, forcing a tiebreak, and even had a pair of set points in the breaker. She couldn’t push through and Osaka took the reins to finish off the hard-hitting duel as she converted her second match point to close out her 22nd win of the season in one hour and 48 minutes.
More to follow…
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou sheds light on what led to split with Naomi Osaka
Patrick Mouratoglou suggests he ran out of time to solve Naomi Osaka's woes but insists that he has no regrets over accepting the job.
After 10 months of working together, Osaka decided to stop working with Mouratoglou just before the start of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. During their tenure, the former world No. 1 showed some positive flashes, like reaching the Auckland final and winning her first clay at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo. But the main reason why the Japanese brought the French coach wasn't accomplished – that was doing well on the biggest stage, specifically Grand Slams.
To Mouratoglou's defense, it should be noted that Osaka dealt with a back injury in late 2024 and was also hampered by an abdominal issue at the start of 2025.
Now, in her first tournament since splitting with Mouratoglou and adding Tomasz Wiktorowski to her team, the Japanese has made the semifinal of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. Addressing that, the French coach tells CNN that he is happy for the 27-year-old and that he is rooting for her to "go all the way."
Then, he shed light on some of the reasons that led to their split.
Mouratoglou: I thought Osaka lacked her past competitiveness… We never solved it
“The thing that was missing was the competitiveness. I think she’s a great competitor, but at that time she was not as good as a competitor as I think can be and she has been in the past. And this is the thing that we didn’t solve. I wish we could have more time to solve it. But we didn’t, that’s life, and I have no regrets on that because that’s the rule when you work in high level. I mean, time is important, and you have to solve the problems fast. So I think that was the key that was missing," the French coach told CNN.
In the same interview, Mouratoglou said that he told Osaka she was ready to win but just needed to find the right guidance. Considering how the Japanese's debut tournament with Wiktorowski has been going, she might have found that right piece.
Osaka Continues Torrid Tennis, Reaching First Semifinal in Canada
By Chris Oddo | Tuesday August 5, 2025
New coach, new vibes?
Naomi Osaka is finding her best tennis in her first tournament with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. The four-time major champion defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday night in Montreal, notching five consecutive wins for the first time since 2022, and setting a semifinal with 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson.
It was a dominant performance from Osaka, who reached the last four in Canada for the first time in her career in her sixth career appearance in Canada.
“I think for me I’m just having a lot of fun playing and I’m really glad to be here,” said the 27-year-old former World No.1. “It’s been seven years.”
Osaka broke serve five times from seven opportunities, kept her error count far lower than Svitolina and won 83 percent of her first-serve points to improve to 21-11 on the season.
“I’m really happy,” she told reporters. I”m also really excited. I don’t know. It’s kind of interesting, because I told people this before, but like, obviously after Wimbledon, I was really disappointed. Then I just kind of let go of my expectations, and now we’re here. So I find it kind of ironic, but I’m happy about it.”
With her win Osaka rises to No.29 in the WTA live rankings, which means she will be seeded at the US Open.
Osaka: Three Reasons for Montreal Resurgence
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 4, 2025
Photo credit: Omnium Banque Nationale Facebook
Being fitter makes you smarter on court, Andre Agassi famously observed.
Naomi Osaka points to improved fitness as one of three main reasons for her Montreal resurgence.
Former world No. 1 Osaka crushed former US Open semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in a 49-minute thrashing that was the shortest match of her accomplished career.
It is Osaka’s fourth straight win equaling her longest winning streak of the season which came in Auckland in January. It sent Osaka into her first Canadian Open quarterfinal and vaulted her to No. 34 in the live rankings—as she moved within striking distance of a US Open wild card.
Osaka attributes her career-best Montreal to three primary reasons: she’s fitter on court, happier off court and believes her trial with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski is working well so far because of the Polish’s coaches direct, no-nonsense style.
“Honestly, I think for me what’s working well is I am very confident in my fitness,” Osaka said. “I’m really
comfortable just getting balls back now, and I really enjoy Tomasz. I don’t know if to say his name is ‘Thomas’ or ‘Tomasz.’ I’m so sorry.
“But I enjoy his coaching style. He’s very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it’s very helpful.”
At times this season, Osaka was getting beaten by deep balls in the corner and sometimes tried playing big strikes down the line rather that playing back a deep ball to give herself time to recover back to the center of the court.
In fact, as recently as her 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 comeback conquest of 13th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova in round two, Osaka was getting beaten repeatedly in crosscourt exchanges and sometimes taking one big step rather than the short, precise preparation steps to give herself ideal spacing between her body and the ball.
The 2023 Montreal finalist Samsonova held double match point at 6-4, 5-4, 40-15 when Osaka dug down and denied two match points sparking her stirring comeback.
In retrospect, it’s possible that comeback win could change the course of Osaka’s season if she sustains this winning streak. Saving those match points, Osaka started putting productive points together rather than resorting to try to end points prematurely with one big strike.
Similarly, Osaka said she’s now focusing on achieving “Mini goals” at tournaments as she tries to stack more wins together and pursue her ultimate goal of a Top 10 return and eventually competing for Slam titles again.
“It’s weird. I talked to my dad, and he said, like, Just being healthy and happy is a form of success,” Osaka said. “I agree with that, but I want more.
“I mean, definitely, of course I would want to win slams, of course I would want to be in the top 10, but I
think I need to pace myself and go for the mini goals, and they’ll eventually turn into the big goals. Yeah, I think being in the quarterfinals here is a step to hopefully getting to the semis and the finals, so I’ll try to treat it more like that.”
Osaka scored her 20th win of the season in Montreal which matches her total 2024 victory output. Now, she’ll try to sustain her roll facing 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina for a semifinal spot. The 27-year-old Osaka has won four of seven meetings vs. Svitolina, who will test the Japanese power players patience with her precision.
Naomi Osaka mentions Serena Williams when addressing her 'biggest weapon'
Naomi Osaka mentioned Serena Williams when asked about her powerful first serve as the Japanese suggested that seeing how the American tennis icon served even in tense moments helped her always believe that her own serve would be there for her.
On Sunday, the Japanese delivered a masterpiece performance and annihilated former world No. 11 Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-0 in the Montreal round-of-16.
From start to finish, it was all Osaka. One of the things that stood was the four-time Grand Slam champion's serve as she fired five aces – zero double faults – won 72 percent of her first serve points – faced three break points across two separate games but saved them all.
Overall, it has been an outstanding week for Osaka in Montreal, who has dropped just one set in four matches played. Her serve has been a major factor behind her promising run at the Canadian WTA 1000 tournament.
Osaka asked how it is possible that she 'never loses her first serve' and that it always remains her 'biggest weapon
The 27-year-old responded: "I don't know. I think for me I just grew up in an era of watching Serena, and she would be down Love 40 and hit four aces. I still think about that sometimes when I play. I also feel like it doesn't have to be an ace. I just have to hit a really good serve and see what happens, because off the baseline, I still think I'm one of the better players, so…"
Per the WTA website, Osaka has fired 200 aces so far in 2025 – won 74 percent of her first serve points – and owns a 78.7 percent when it comes to holding her own serve.
Considering that Osaka plays next against Svitolina in Montreal, there is no doubt that the four-time Grand Slam winner will need her serve to click exceptionally.
Montreal: Naomi Osaka delivers perfect display for QF, destroys rival in 49 minutes
Naomi Osaka has just delivered one of her best displays since starting her post-pregnancy comeback in 2024 as the former world No. 1 needed just 49 minutes to destroy Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-0 in the Montreal round-of-16.
Through the opening two games of the match, the two players were tied to one game apiece. From that moment on, there was only one player on the court – and it was the Japanese – who impressively took the next 11 games without basically giving any chance to the former world No. 11.
For Osaka, this is her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the year. Also, this is the first time since Auckland that the four-time Grand Slam champion has managed to win four matches in a single tournament at the main level – note, the Japanese also had five consecutive wins in May at the WTA 125 (Challenger) tournament in Saint-Malo.
Now, the 27-year-old awaits the winner of the match between No. 5 seed Amanda Anisimova and Elina Svitolina.
Osaka is looking rejuvenated in Montreal
After losing in the Washington round-of-16, Osaka made a big move and decided to say goodbye to coach Patrick Mouratoglou. But she is not alone in Montreal after quickly agreeing on a collaboration with Iga Swiatek's former long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. So far, their debut has been nothing short of outstanding.
“I think with personality, I was a little nervous because he seems a little stern but he’s actually kind of funny. He’ll randomly say a joke that I wasn’t expecting or something like that. I like him a lot. I know that we’ve only played two matches, but he seems very decisive with what he wants. And I think that that makes it very clear for me," Osaka said of Wiktorowski a few days ago.
Osaka won't have an easy job in the Montreal quarterfinal whoever she faces, but she is certainly not lacking any confidence at the moment.
Struggling Naomi Osaka ditches coach Patrick Mouratoglou
Naomi Osaka is making a major change at the start of the North American hard-court swing as the former world No. 1 decided to call time on her partnership with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Last week, the Japanese kicked off her summer on hard courts in Washington, where she defeated Yulia Putintseva in her opener before being bounced by Emma Raducanu in straight sets. Overall, the four-time Grand Slam champion is 21-12 this year and ranked at No. 49 in the world – a far cry from where she wants to be.
After failing to rediscover her old form, Osaka split with Wim Fissette following the conclusion of the 2024 US Open. The 27-year-old hired Mouratoglou shortly after. Now, less than a year of working together, they are separating.
"Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I've ever met and I'm sure I'll see you around," the four-time Grand Slam champion announced through an Instagram Story.
How Osaka's tenure with Mouratoglou went?
When Osaka hired Mouratoglou – who worked with Serena Williams for a decade and achieved massive success – she was hoping the French coach could lead her to the Promised Land. It didn't happen and their partnership is now a thing of the past.
When it comes to the Japanese's 2025 season, two results stand out – a runner-up finish in Auckland and her first clay title at the WTA 125 (Challenger) tournament in Saint-Malo.
Now that Mouratoglou is gone, it will be interesting to see if Osaka brings someone to assist her or if she decides to go solo for some time.
Today, the former world No. 1 is starting her campaign at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal, where she plays against world No. 515 Ariana Arseneault. The Japanese's form may not be the best but she enters as the major favorite against the 515th-ranked Canadian.