Naomi Osaka says she wasn’t affected by a late change in opponent after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their United Cup match. Team GB faced Japan in the mixed-gender team competition, and the Brits took an early lead when Billy Harris beat Shintaro Mochizuki in the men’s singles match.
Osaka had been expecting to play Raducanu, whom she lost to last summer in their only meeting at the Washington Open, but the world No. 29 withdrew, citing an injury, and was replaced by Katie Swan. Ranked down at No. 276 in the world, Swan put up a good fight in the opening set and took an early break, but the match ran away from her, and four-time Major winner Osaka sealed a 7-6(4) 6-1 victory.
Team GB went on to win the decisive mixed doubles rubber, with Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski getting the job done and eliminating Japan from quarter-finals contention. British team captain later referenced a foot issue Raducanu had been struggling with during the off-season when discussing her withdrawal.
Former world No. 1 Osaka had been looking forward to facing Raducanu, previously saying she “enjoyed matches like that”. But she wasn’t bothered by Team GB’s late switch-up.
“I mean, honestly, for me, that didn’t really change my preparation. I’m the type of person that goes in there focusing on myself,” Osaka said of Raducanu’s sudden withdrawal. “Yeah, I mean, I kind of learned last minute, but didn’t really matter all too much to me anyway.”
The world No. 16 looked flat as she lost her first match of the season to Maria Sakkari on Friday and revealed that she had been unwell. But Osaka felt more like herself against Swan, and doesn’t think there will be any issues at the upcoming Australian Open.
She added: “Yeah, I mean, I definitely do feel better every day. But it’s ironic, literally every time someone asks me, I say yes, then I start coughing. I’m just not going to jinx myself. Yeah, I definitely… I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with the cough. I think it will be fine for Australian Open.”
Osaka now has “high hopes” for the first Grand Slam tournament of 2026. She enjoyed a resurgence last summer, reaching the Canadian Open final and the US Open semi-final, but a leg injury forced her to end the season early.
“I mean, it was definitely really tough. I don’t know, I feel like everything happens for a reason. I think for me, it kind of allowed me to, like, regroup. Obviously Japan, both Osaka and Toray were really important to me. When I couldn’t play those, it was definitely devastating,” she said.
AloJapan.com