Naomi Osaka has suffered some crushing results in 2025.
She was on the verge of another one at the Canadian Open when she took on Liudmila Samsonova in the second round.
Staring down the barrel of defeat, Naomi Osaka battled hard and saved two match points before going on to claim a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
This was just the type of victory Osaka needed and she aims to use that momentum to have a strong run in Montreal.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesNaomi Osaka has already started doing something she struggled with when Patrick Mouratoglou coached her
Prior to her opening Canadian Open match, it was announced that Osaka no longer has Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach.
The Frenchman coached the former world number one for the past 10 months, but the partnership is now over and it has not negatively impacted Osaka on court.
Now working with Tomas Wiktorowski on a trial basis, Osaka beat Ariana Arseneault before coming from behind to beat Samsonova.
Prior to Montreal, Osaka lost her last four three set-matches, all when Mouratoglou was still her coach.
Gaining a new perspective and starting afresh with Wiktorowski has given Osaka a new lease of life, which helped propel her to the type of victory she had not managed to achieve until this point in the season.
Osaka with the movement 😱 #OBNMontreal
— Malik RS @best 🏴 🇵🇱 🇦🇺 🇬🇧 (@rightway_7) July 30, 2025
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Fans praised Naomi Osaka for her movement against Liudmila Samsonova in Canada
Osaka battled hard against Samsonova for two hours and 37 minutes at the Canadian Open.
The Japanese player came from a set and 3-5 down to win the contest in stunning fashion, and the smile on her face post-match was clear for all to see.
This was Osaka’s first win after saving a match point since the 2021 Australian Open against Garbine Muguruza, before going on to win the title.
Naomi was making it to balls she had never made before 😭🥺🥺
— Shank (@Shankballs) July 30, 2025
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Fans who watched Osaka’s latest encounter were very impressed with her movement, as one wrote on X: “Naomi was making it to balls she had never made before,” while another added: “Never seen Osaka move like this.”
“Osaka with the movement,” another fan posted, and this user said: “Osaka continues to move well on hard courts.”
“This is how we’ve been wanting her to play. She’s always been able to,” said another fan, before this user added: “I was really impressed.”
AloJapan.com