Naomi Osaka Admits Mid-match Blunder in Honest US Open Reflection

It was a good day at the office for Naomi Osaka. The Japanese superstar marked her entry to the hard court in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night, cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belgium’s Greet Minnen. Wrapping up her debut win in just an hour and 24 minutes, the 23rd seed reaffirmed why she was considered the favorite—especially after her recent Canadian Open final heroics. Still, the match wasn’t all smooth sailing for the 27-year-old, as a few mid-match blunders crept in—something Osaka herself didn’t hesitate to acknowledge.

After a tough split with her coach, Serena Williams’ former mentor Patrick Mouratoglou, just 10 months into their partnership, the Japanese tennis star turned to Tomasz Wiktorowski, who led her to a final in their very first outing together, albeit ending in defeat. Now, it seems both Osaka and Wiktorowski are eager to continue their work at the ongoing US Open. While her victory over Greet Minnen reinforces that belief, one thing is clear: she still has areas to improve, given her struggles in the second set.

Then again, an honest post-game confession made things clear. “I don’t really know, I think, for me, I felt really nervous. I think that made me a little negative sometimes, so I just tried to, I guess, be as positive as I could when I realised I was getting down on myself,” she said, clearly admitting how an anxious feeling during the game ended up creating a certain imbalance in momentum, making her feel under-confident.

Well, we get a glimpse of what might have gone wrong for Osaka in the middle of the second set, when Minnen broke serve again to move ahead 4-3 with the advantage on her racket. That moment seemed to jolt Osaka awake, as she responded by winning 12 of the next 15 points and scoring back-to-back breaks to wrap up a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

The right-handed tennis star had begun the second set quite strongly, taking the first two games with ease, but Greet Minnen quickly responded by capitalizing on Osaka’s second serve to break back and level things at 2-2. Yet, that didn’t stop the 4x Grand Slam champion from keeping her head high. From 2-3 down, she took control, reeling off four straight games while exploiting Minnen’s struggles on first serve.

And if you are still under-confident about Naomi Osaka’s performance, let us share some more interesting insights. Not to mention, a special guest who had accompanied the Japanese tennis star.

Despite the self doubt, Naomi Osaka dominated like a boss

Though Naomi Osaka showcased signs of self doubt, she won 67% of her service points and 59% of her return points, proving how aggressive she was with her forehand. The 27-year-old managed to hit 12 winners compared to her rival’s seven, not to mention the Belgian racked up 14 unforced errors compared to Osaka’s nine. The Japanese star needed just 38 minutes to take the first set 6-3, converting all three of her break chances with ruthless efficiency.

Interestingly, it wasn’t just Osaka’s powerful serves that caught attention. She stepped onto Louis Armstrong Stadium in a striking red floral outfit, her hair adorned with matching rose accessories. Completing the look were custom bright-red Nike GP Challenge 1 sneakers and a black visor, with a Billie Jean Bling Labubu charm hanging from her bag, which, of course, was a playful nod to the legend Billie Jean King.

Overall, the match was full of ups and downs for Naomi Osaka. But from the looks of it, she has successfully managed to book her place in the second round. There, she will be facing 23-year-old Hailey Baptiste (No. 47), who defeated Czech player Katerina Siniakova in her first-round of the US Open. It remains to be seen how Naomi will take up the challenge and perhaps not repeat any mistakes that might cost her more than she can afford.

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