WIMBLEDON, England — Naomi Osaka had a giant smile on her face after defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 on Friday.
After taking part in simply 65 minutes, Osaka, ranked 14th, reached the milestone on the All England Membership, simply over a month after advancing to the second week at Roland Garros for the primary time in her profession.
The look on her face stated all of it. Lastly.
Regardless of successful 4 main titles on onerous courts throughout her profession, the 28-year-old Osaka has by no means had this a lot success on pure surfaces. By 2026, Osaka had reached the identical third spherical at Roland Garros thrice and at Wimbledon thrice, however by no means superior past that.
She had proven indicators of enchancment on each surfaces lately, however by no means absolutely realized it. However this season, all the pieces appears to have clicked right into a beforehand unfamiliar floor. She reached her first grass-court remaining on the 500 degree in Dangerous Homburg final week, however needed to withdraw from the competitors as a precaution resulting from a foot harm.
“(I) understood grass court docket tennis extra,” Osaka instructed reporters Friday. “I feel after I was youthful I used to be somewhat extra cussed about how I needed to play on this floor, however now I discover myself flowing extra freely.”
And now, at Roland Garros, in addition to in Madrid and Indian Wells earlier this season, Osaka should face world primary Aryna Sabalenka within the spherical of 16 on Sunday. Sabalenka, a four-time main winner searching for her first Grand Slam title off a tough court docket, additionally reached the ultimate at Roland Garros in 2025 and has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon thrice. And lately, no girl has achieved such constant ends in slam competitions. She has superior to the quarterfinals or increased in every of her previous 14 main appearances.
Osaka, who missed the whole 2023 season resulting from maternity depart, has solely reached the semifinals as soon as since successful her final main title in 2021.
Naomi Osaka advances to the fourth spherical for the primary time with nice play 👏 pic.twitter.com/soAlhTmB72
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2026
Sabalenka has received all three of her matches in opposition to Osaka this yr, however the world No. 1 stated each match between the 2 was “very powerful.” In Paris, the one girls’s match featured within the event’s featured evening session spot, Osaka capitalized on Sabalenka’s early errors to take a 2-0 lead earlier than Sabalenka leveled up. Sabalenka used her energy, aggression and flexibility to make 12 aces and 39 winners on the day, successful 7-5, 6-3.
After that loss, Osaka returned to america for coaching. She stated her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, needed to get artistic together with her preparations as a result of there aren’t any grass courts close to her house. Osaka stated she did quite a lot of “bizarre practices,” lots of which pressured her ahead, all of which helped her perceive ball velocity and depth.
“I feel he challenges me so much to suppose exterior the field,” she stated. “…We have been simply doing various things.”
It appears to have labored. Since dropping to Sabalenka, she has a 7-1 document on grass. Throughout that point, she has misplaced only one set – within the Dangerous Homburg remaining in opposition to Karolina Muchova when she had the match deserted – and has been dominant throughout her time on the All England Membership. Towards former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kasatkina, Osaka took management from the beginning. She misplaced simply 5 factors on serve within the first set. At the same time as Kasatkina leveled up within the second set, Osaka stayed the course and was undaunted once more, overcoming three deuces to seize a break at 4-3.
The win marks the primary time he has reached the fourth spherical of a significant event in consecutive years because the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open. She received each titles.
Chatting with reporters after her win early Friday morning, Osaka was uncertain whether or not she would face Sabalenka or Jelena Ostapenko subsequent. However that did not cease the questions on Sabalenka, her confirmed incapacity, and the way she would fare in her first match on grass.
“Clearly, I have been doing very effectively on grass this yr. My confidence is fairly excessive,” Osaka stated. “For me, I do know what my grass court docket tennis is like, and that provides me a fairly steady mindset going into the match, irrespective of who I play.”
“I haven’t got as many doubts as I do on clay. Grass could be somewhat higher for me[against Sabalenka]however I am not that certain.”
Sabalenka posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ostapenko on Friday, however has struggled at instances throughout the grass court docket season. Enjoying in Berlin final month, her solely warm-up event on land, she wanted three units to flee present world No. 48 Nikola Bartunkova within the quarterfinals, however was crushed within the semifinals by Jessica Pegula, dropping within the deciding set.
“To be sincere, I laughed after the third set,” Sabalenka instructed reporters at Wimbledon in regards to the lopsided loss.
Sabalenka confronted McCartney Kessler within the second spherical on the All England Membership, and though she trailed 5-2 within the second set, she discovered a method to combat off 4 set factors and in the end received the match 6-1, 7-6 (9). She later referred to as it a “powerful battle” and stated she was proud of how she obtained by it.
After Friday’s win, Sabalenka stated there can be few surprises within the fourth spherical in opposition to Osaka. “She is aware of my powers, my aggression, all the pieces,” she stated. And Sabalenka stated she does not take into consideration their previous encounters.
“Each time you play in opposition to somebody back-to-back, you deliver one thing new to the court docket,” Sabalenka stated. “For me, each time I play in opposition to somebody, it is a new story. Each event, I’ve to play in opposition to somebody, for me it is a new match. I do not actually care about what occurred previously.
“I feel that is working very well for me by way of bringing my finest tennis, being centered and being motivated. For me, it does not actually matter what number of instances a yr I play somebody. I am simply going to go on the market and play the match. And I’ll do no matter it takes to get by.”
When requested about dealing with an opponent she has performed in opposition to many instances this season and whether or not she could be upset by her 0-3 document in 2026, Osaka struck a extra optimistic tone.
“From my perspective, I do not thoughts taking part in somebody today,” Osaka stated. “For those who take a look at my outcomes, the one ones I’ve misplaced to in the previous few months are her and Iga (Swiatek). … And (Sabarenka) is the No. 1 participant on the earth. If there’s somebody I’ve to lose to, I am going to take that rating.”
“If something, I can say I discovered from all of these matches, so if I ever get to play in opposition to her, I hope I can apply.”
