Photo Credit: Getty Images
Naomi Osaka reached the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time in her career after producing a commanding straight sets victory over Daria Kasatkina.
The former world number one delivered one of her strongest performances on grass, defeating the Australian born player 6-1, 6-3 in just 65 minutes on Court One.
Osaka has enjoyed most of her Grand Slam success on hard courts, winning all four of her major singles titles at the Australian Open and the US Open. Grass and clay have traditionally been her most difficult surfaces, making this latest achievement another significant milestone in her career.
The victory comes less than five weeks after Osaka also reached the fourth round at the French Open for the first time, highlighting her growing confidence on surfaces that once troubled her.
The 28 year old entered the match wearing another eye catching outfit before backing it up with an impressive display. She dominated from the opening game, striking the ball cleanly and keeping unforced errors to a minimum.
Osaka admitted afterward that her recent run of matches on grass had helped her settle into the surface.
"I definitely felt really good today," she said. "I've played a lot of matches on grass over the past two weeks, so I felt really confident."
Her confidence has been building since reaching her first grass court final at the Bad Homburg Open last month. Although she was forced to retire because of injury during the championship match against Karolina Muchova, the tournament appears to have given her valuable momentum heading into Wimbledon.
So far, Osaka has not dropped a single set during this year's tournament.
The opening set was nearly flawless. She committed only six unforced errors and lost just five points on her serve, leaving Kasatkina with little opportunity to respond.
Kasatkina improved after the opening set and briefly recovered after falling behind early in the second. However, Osaka quickly regained control by winning the next three games and comfortably closed out the match.
Since returning to professional tennis after becoming a mother in 2024, Osaka has steadily worked her way back toward the top level. This marks only the second time she has progressed beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam since her return.
Off the court, Osaka also shared a lighthearted story about her daughter Shai, who celebrated her third birthday the previous day.
She joked that her daughter had spent some time in timeout after a trip to the park but said the birthday celebration was still special.
Osaka smiled as she told the crowd that Shai happily blew out her birthday candles and made a wish. She laughed that she hoped the wish was to behave a little better, before adding that every new day offers a fresh start.
