Naomi Osaka is back to her best and through to the final in Saint-Malo after defeating Leolia Jeanjean over three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
Osaka shocked fans when announcing she would accept a wildcard for a lower level event, but has impressed so far at the WTA 125 level tournament in France.
The four-time grand slam champion has had a tough first four months of the 2025 WTA season, bowing out in the Australian Open in the third round and suffering early exits in Indian Wells and Madrid.
The former world number one did make it to the Round of 16 in Miami, but ultimately lost to Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini.
However, Osaka is back to winning ways in Saint-Malo, where, along with reentering the top 50, she has reached another milestone in her career.
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesNaomi Osaka reaches first clay final of her career in Saint-Malo
The 27-year-old has finally reached her first final on clay as she searches for her eighth career singles title.
Osaka has made 12 finals in her career, emerging victorious in seven of them, including two wins at the Australian Open, two US Open titles, and two WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and the China Open.
A hard-court specialist, she has never managed to reach a final on grass, but has now captured the clay-court final appearance that has eluded her.
Osaka is now one win away from her first title in four years; her last championship coming in 2021 when she held the Australian Open title aloft on Rod Laver Arena.
Naomi Osaka’s struggles outside of hard court over the years
Osaka’s first final on clay comes after over a decade of being on tour, having struggled on the surface throughout her otherwise successful career.
The Japanese player has had seven attempts at Roland Garros, but has never made it past the third round, tallying three Round-of-32 French Open finishes across her career.
She has struggled on grass as well, with her best finish at Wimbledon also a Round-of-32 finish, which she achieved in 2017 and 2018.
YearHard RecordClay RecordGrass Record20259/44/10/0202414/105/53/3202214/91/20/0202118/62/30/0202016/30/10/0201929/79/41/2201829/105/46/3201715/135/54/4201628/175/41/1201517/115/34/220148/92/32/2201317/1011/60/0201210/68/40/020110/10/00/0Total224/11662/4521/17Percentage65.88%57.9455.26Naomi Osaka’s win percentage across three main surfaces according to tennislive.com (excluding 2023)
Her win percentages on clay and grass of 57.94% and 55.26%, respectively, fall significantly below the 65.88% she holds on hard court.
Osaka will now look to capture the title in Saint-Malo and bulid some momentum on clay heading into Roland Garros.
AloJapan.com