Osaka finally gets going on the hallowed grass

Sunday was a day of firsts for Naomi Osaka. Prior to the 6-2, 7-6(2) victory over Aryna Sabalenka, she had never won on Centre Court; the feat earned the 28-year-old her maiden entry into the singles quarterfinal at Wimbledon; and the success snapped a run of five straight defeats to top-10 players.

These are also surprising firsts for a four-time Slam titlist and a former No. 1. But grass has long been Osaka’s vulnerability, as she has struggled to find the steady base to unleash her linear back-court power. Her win-loss record at the All England Club was an uninspiring 7-5 leading into this year’s tournament.

And ever since she returned from a maternity break in early 2024, she has —quite understandably — found it tough to stay with the elite and suffered reverses in 10 of the 12 contests against those from the WTA top-10.

The triumph over Sabalenka can, in effect, uncork the pressure. For one, she is back at her expressive best, with the most evident indicator being her flowing kimono-inspired outfit — an ode to her Japanese nationality — that she has sported while walking on to the hallowed lawns.

The tennis has marched in step. Osaka had lost to Sabalenka thrice this year — at Indian Wells, Madrid and Roland-Garros. Yet, she was unruffled in her play, and appeared to have fully embraced the all-out aggressive style championed by her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, who formerly helped Iga Swiatek win four of her six Majors.

“Tomasz was very clear to tell me not to focus on the score,” Osaka said later. “In Madrid [versus Sabalenka], when I won the first set, I was very conscious of closing it out. This time, I just tried to play it game by game.

“I thought about it as a practice match. I was just telling myself ‘there’s a really big crowd for this practice match, but we’re going to get through it’”.