Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka
大坂 なおみ

Osaka at the 2016 US Open
Full name	Naomi Osaka
Country (sports)	Japan
Born	(1997-10-16) 16 October 1997 Osaka, Japan
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	David Taylor
Prize money	$999,721
Singles
Career record	125–90
Career titles	0 WTA
Highest ranking	No. 40 (17 October 2016)
Current ranking	No. 59 (3 July 2017)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (2016)
French Open	3R (2016)
Wimbledon	3R (2017)
US Open	3R (2016)
Other tournaments
Doubles
Career record	2–11
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 324 (3 April 2017)
Current ranking	No. 798 (3 July 2017)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2017)
French Open	2R (2016)
Wimbledon	1R (2017)
US Open	1R (2016)
Last updated on: 3 July 2017.

Naomi Osaka (大坂 なおみ, Ōsaka Naomi, born 16 October 1997) is a Japanese professional tennis player. On 17 October 2016, Osaka reached her best singles ranking of world no. 40. On 3 April 2017, she peaked at world no. 324 in the doubles rankings.

Personal life

Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother. She has an older sister, Mari, who is also a professional tennis player.

Career

2013-2014: Career beginnings

Osaka made her main draw WTA tour debut at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic, having firstly entered the qualifying tournament and defeating Alla Kudryavtseva and Petra Martić for a spot in the main draw. She was then pitted against 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur and came from a set down to defeat the Australian in a match lasting 2 1/2 hours. It was Osaka's first main draw match win at the WTA level.

2015–16: Breakthrough: First WTA Final and Top 50 ranking

During the 2015 WTA Finals she won the Rising Stars Invitational exhibition tournament, defeating Caroline Garcia in the final.

In her grand slam debut, Osaka reached the third round of Australian Open as a qualifier defeating Donna Vekic and 18th seeded Elina Svitolina in straight sets. She ended up losing to former champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. During the clay season, Osaka reached the third round of the French Open. She defeated 32nd seed and 2017 champion Jeļena Ostapenko and Mirjana Lučić-Baroni both in straight sets. She then lost to former finalist and 6th seed Simona Halep in three sets, despite capturing the first set.

After an injury forced her out from participating in Wimbledon, Osaka reached the third round at the 2016 US Open. She defeated 28th seed Coco Vandeweghe coming from a set down and she also defeated Duan Yingying in straight sets before falling to American Madison Keys 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7). She had led 5-1 in the third set.

She started off the fall Asian swing competing at the 2016 Japan Women's Open, where she comprehensively beat Anett Kontaveit in the first round before falling to Zhang Shuai in straight sets. The next week saw Osaka's main breakthrough arrive at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she was given a wildcard and went on to defeat the likes of fellow countrywoman Misaki Doi, Dominika Cibulkova, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and Elina Svitolina to reach her first WTA final. In the final, she fell to former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. With this result, Osaka moved into the Top 50 of the WTA rankings.

Osaka was voted the newcomer of the year in the 2016 WTA Awards.

2017

At the Australian Open, Osaka won her first round match before losing to Johanna Konta in straight sets. She also lost in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships to Christina McHale.

She had multiple second round and third round losses at Indian Wells, the Miami Open, and the Volvo Car Open. She qualified for the Women's Stuttgart Open before losing to Konta again in the first round. She was unsuccessful in the rest of her clay season.

Osaka lost in the first round of the Nottingham Open, in straight sets. She was able to win a match at the Birmingham Open before losing to Lucie Safarova in the next round. She also lost to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets at the Eastbourne International tournament.

At Wimbledon, Osaka defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo and Barbora Strýcová before losing to Venus Williams in the third round.

Playing style

Osaka is an offensive baseliner. She is able to hit winners off both sides. She likes to attack with her big forehand, but she can also plant her feet and rip her backhand for winners as well. Her serve is consistent and very strong - up to 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) and can produce weak balls to hit winners off of. Osaka prefers to be attacking and is not as comfortable on defense.

WTA finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Winner – Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) Premier (0–1) International (0–0)

Titles by Surface Hard (0–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Category	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	25 September 2016	Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan	Premier	Hard	Caroline Wozniacki	5–7, 3–6

WTA 125 series

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	15 November 2015	Hua Hin Championships, Hua Hin, Thailand	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	4–6, 7–6(10–8), 4–6

ITF finals

Singles: 4 (0–4)

Legend $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $15,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (0–3) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–1) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	2 June 2013	El Paso, United States	Hard	Sanaz Marand	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	9 March 2014	Irapuato, Mexico	Hard	Indy de Vroome	6–3, 4–6, 1–6
Runner-up	3.	3 May 2015	Gifu, Japan	Hard	Zheng Saisai	6–3, 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	4.	14 June 2015	Surbiton, United Kingdom	Grass	Vitalia Diatchenko	6–7(5–7), 0–6

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Tournament	2015	2016	2017	SR	W–L
Australian Open	A	3R	2R	0 / 2	3–2
French Open	A	3R	1R	0 / 2	2–2
Wimbledon	Q1	A	3R	0 / 1	2–1
US Open	Q2	3R		0 / 1	2–1
Win–Loss	0–0	6–3	3–3	0 / 6	9–6

External links

• Naomi Osaka at the Women's Tennis Association
• Naomi Osaka at the Billie Jean King Cup