Naomi Osaka through to Miami Quarterfinals with ease: “It’s one of the funnest times of my life”

Over the past year, Osaka had only reached a quarter-finals of a WTA tournament once: at the warm-up tournament in Melbourne before the Australian Open in January. Before that, she was last in the quarterfinals at the Miami Open 2021.

In the world rankings, the former number one in the world has now dropped to 77th place. After her third-round defeat at the US Open last September, the 24-year-old tearfully announced a break from tennis and spoke openly about mental problems.

Last year, Osaka lost 6-0, 6-0 to Maria Sakkari in Miami’s quarterfinals. “It’s pretty funny for me because last year I made it to the quarterfinals here too,” Osaka explained, adding: “That was after I won the Australian Open and I wasn’t that grateful. I kind of expected to win.”

Osaka reaches for tournament victory

Now Osaka has found fun and ease again in Miami – and is reaching for the first tournament win since the Australian Open last year.

In the round of the last eight she now meets the American Danielle Collins. The number eleven in the world rankings was full of praise for the opponent who had regained strength. “When Naomi is playing her best tennis, she is very, very difficult to beat,” said the 28-year-old.

Should Osaka win the title in the US, she would return to the top 30 region in the world rankings.