Labubu was one of the talking points of the just-concluded US Open. So was Naomi Osaka.
The No. 23 seed made heads turn with her stirring run in New York before coming up short in the semifinal against local favourite Amanda Anisimova. From languishing in the low 800s after being away from the game for 17 months on maternity leave, Osaka has soared to 14th in the world rankings after her impressive performance in New York. The 27-year-old will be aiming to build on her form and plot her way back to where she belonged once in the sport – the top.
Importantly, the former World No. 1 is taking a lot of inspiration from her defeats. The most recent one at the hands of Anisimova appears to have given her the belief that she still has it in her to win Grand Slam titles.
Osaka went down in a near three-hour battle despite blasting more aces than her opponent and committing fewer unforced errors. She chose to focus on the positives despite the heartbreaking defeat.
“I don’t feel sad. I just feel that I did the best that I could,” Osaka said after the match. “Honestly, it’s kind of inspiring for me because it makes me want to train and try to get better… give it my very best shot again and see what happens. I can’t be mad or upset at myself.”
She was away from the sport for an extended period following the birth of her daughter, only returning to the tour in January 2024. The comeback, however, wasn’t smooth. She was unable to win the matches where she looked the favourite and moving up the rankings ladder was slower than expected.
“When all the moms came back (to the tour after giving birth) and they did well kind of off the bat, I sort of felt like there was something wrong with me,” Osaka had said after her quarterfinal win over 11th seed Karolina Muchova.
“I know that Belinda (Bencic, who gave birth in April 2024) made the semifinal of Wimbledon (2025, her second Grand Slam appearance since returning to the tour). I just really felt like I was losing a race in some sort of weird way. That was on my mind, and now I’m here and I feel like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders.”
Before the defeat to Anisimova at the US Open, a second-round loss to Emma Raducanu in Washington, in July, seemed to have served her well.
“I called a round-table of my team, and I was just very confused (about) how confident I was in myself,” Osaka said during the New York campaign. “Because, even though I lost, I remember telling them, ‘I think I can beat anyone from the baseline still, and we just have to figure out if I have to change my game plan or if I just have to do something new and different.’”
That prompted the decision to bring in as her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously worked with Iga Swiatek. Osaka said that Wiktorowski had helped her become more efficient when returning serve and be more patient in rallies. They have worked together in only two tournaments so far and the results have been impressive. Osaka reached the final of the Montreal Masters, which helped her earn a seeding at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open. And her deep run in the season’s last Major could provide the impetus that she is looking for and could be the springboard for increased success and possibly tournament victories.
“Getting far in the US Open was definitely a confidence booster. But the season’s not done yet,” she said after the exit at the US Open. “I don’t know what ranking I’m up at, but I think I’m getting up there. Doing well in the Asian swing and then closing off the rest of the year is my goal now,” Osaka said, looking ahead to the rest of the season.
Having won four Grand Slam singles titles (two each at the US Open and Australian Open), Osaka will be keen to better her record at the French Open, where her best showing thus far has been reaching the third round, and also at Wimbledon, which hasn’t seen her advance past the third round.
The power-hitting Japanese has seen it all since her spectacular rise. After breaking through with a title run at the 2018 US Open, she scaled the peak of the sport and looked set to rule before things began to go pear-shaped. Indifferent form and injuries pegged her back. That wasn’t all. She grappled with mental health issues, too. She walked away from the sport early in 2023 due to pregnancy and would return only in January 2024. After a season with mixed results and more lows than highs, Osaka pulled the curtains down on the (2024) season early due to a back injury.
This year began on a promising note as she reached the final of the Auckland Open before falling to Clara Tauson. It was the first time she advanced to a final since 2022. However, she was forced to retire mid-way due to an injury.
While a third-round appearance at the Australian Open followed, tournament success continued to elude her. Things turned around at the WTA 125 Open de Saint-Malo, where she won her first title since the 2021 Australian Open.
After the Canadian Open, she progressed to the final before the fast-rising Victoria Mboko stopped her run. She built on the performance in the final Major of the year.
She came up with commanding displays in the first two rounds with straight set wins before Daria Kasatkina came in her way. After sweeping the first set without dropping a game, she held off a fighting Kasatkina. Then came the high-profile clash against Coco Gauff, which saw Osaka dismantle the third-seeded American in straight sets in a clinical display.
“These are the moments that I play tennis for,” she said after crushing Gauff. It was a sign that she was back to her best and could take on and beat the best in the business.
She carried her good form into the semis and was involved in an intense battle against Anisimova before coming up short. Though she failed to emulate Kim Clijsters in winning a Slam after becoming a mother, like the Belgian did in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Osaka’s splendid run at Flushing Meadows will give her hope of doing that very soon.
Recent years have seen several players lay their hands on Grand Slam singles trophies, with there being no duopoly like in the men’s game, where Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have pulled away from the rest of the field.
Osaka could once again break into the winner’s circle at the Majors, if she can fend off the challenges posed by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Jessica Pegula, the current leading names on the women’s circuit.
How Osaka fares in the rest of the 2025 season and her ability to handle seasoned opponents would provide answers to the question of whether she could return to the elite. But given her good showing in New York, that could be within the realms of possibility.
The tennis star from the Land of the Rising Sun is primed to rise to the top of the sport again, having been ranked the No. 1 for 25 weeks earlier, and maybe carry more Labubus to Slams.
Published – September 12, 2025 12:12 am IST
AloJapan.com