Naomi Osaka‘s hard court swing started in a way she didn’t expect. Facing Ashlyn Krueger in the opening round at the Citi DC Open, she was hoping to get a win. But the victory was bittersweet, as it came at the cost of her opponent’s injury.

Kreuger suffered a concerning ankle injury during the match and had to retire, handing Osaka the win. However, after the match, the former World No.1 was gracious enough to give her opponent her due credit for playing on with an injury.

“I mean, obviously, like I’d want to play a full match. I think for me the lead-up to New York is, you know, all about matches. So I’m really sad for her that, you know, she couldn’t finish the match, and I really hope she gets better”, said Osaka after the match on Tennis Channel. “It’s honestly, it sounded really serious. So I’m really shocked that she was able to play through the pain. And I think that says a lot about her character”.

The incident took place in the first set when Krueger suffered from an ankle injury while being 1-4 down in the set. The American used a medical timeout and played out the first set, but as it turned out, the pain seemed to be too much for her to handle, as she pulled the plug while being 1-3 down in the second set.

Osaka’s stats from the match could be taken with a pinch of salt as her opponent was injured, but the four-time Major champion was at her best, as she made only five unforced errors in the match. Her serving was great, as she did not face a single break point, thanks to her 72 percent win rate on second serves.

This is the first time Osaka has reached the quarterfinals in Washington, having made second-round exits at the event in 2018 and 2025. The Japanese player has been active during this phase of the year, playing in events like Canada and Cincinnati to get herself prepared for the US Open.

Playing at the warm-up events seems to work for Osaka, as she had a great run to the Canadian Open final last year, where she lost to home favorite Victoria Mboko. That performance seemed to give her the confidence to reach the semifinal at the US Open, a run where she even defeated Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 clash. Back in 2020, the Japanese player also reached the final in Cincinnati, which served as the starting block for her to win the 2020 US Open.

Osaka will now face Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Washington quarterfinal, and the Japanese player will be determined to make a deep run before she has to defend a lot of points in the North American summer.

Naomi Osaka Will Face Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Washington Quarterfinal

Having gone past Krueger, Osaka will look to continue her winning run against Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the quarterfinals of the Citi DC Open. Osaka’s season started with an unfortunate withdrawal in the third round of the Australian Open, but it was her form on natural surfaces that showed glimpses of her returning to her vintage form.

Natural surfaces were Osaka’s Achilles heel, but she reached consecutive clay-court third rounds at Madrid and Rome, and battled till the fourth round at the French Open, before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Playing on grass, Osaka finally showed her quality on the surface, reaching the final of the Bad Homburg Open, where she could not complete her match against Karolina Muchova.

However, Osaka was fit and ready for Wimbledon, and her career-best outing at SW19, where she reached the quarterfinals but lost to Muchova. However, it was the former World No.1’s win against Sabalenka in the fourth round that turned heads. Osaka’s serve was the talking point of the match, as she did not get broken by an elite returner like Sabalenka, with Osaka’s second serve often coming to her rescue.

The aggressive second serve will work for Osaka in her clash against Cocciaretto, who has been in good form this week, having beaten top-quality players like Clara Tauson and Emma Navarro in the early rounds. However, Osaka does have a 1-0 head-to-head record against the Italian player, having won their only match in Miami in 2024.

Osaka will be determined to get as many points from Washington as possible, as she will have a large chunk of ranking points to defend in Canada and New York. If the former World No.1 can get her groove on this summer, the probability of her re-entering the Top 10 is quite high.