After a good run at the US Open, Naomi Osaka‘s Asian swing started rough. The former world No.1 struggled to find her rhythm at the China Open, losing in the first round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Concerns popped up, but Naomi stayed positive heading into the Wuhan Open. She won her opener against Leylah Fernandez, but round 32 didn’t go her way. She even revealed a weakness.

On Wednesday, the 11th seed gave it her all but couldn’t hold off Linda Noskova. The 20-year-old Czech player beat Naomi in straight sets after a fierce tiebreak in the first set. Noskova out-served Osaka in just 1 hour and 28 minutes!

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado shared that Naomi Osaka was rock-solid on serve in the set, dropping only six points before the tiebreak. But when it mattered the most, her rhythm disappeared. She lost all five serve points in the breaker as Linda Noskova surged to take it 7–6(2). Not her best Asian swing, but Naomi has two tournaments left to turn it around!

For Naomi, this match rings some alarms. Just a round earlier, she showed spirit, coming back from a set down to edge Leylah Fernandez. Today, the tiebreak went the other way. She opened with a double fault and then sprayed errors, letting the first set slip away.

Starting the second set, Naomi Osaka had a perfect chance, two break points early on. But she couldn’t convert. Noskova waited patiently. At 4-3, she grabbed her first break points of the match and broken through for a 5-3 lead. One cool hold of serve later, the Czech sealed the deal.

The Japanese player has had a mixed bag of a 2025 season so far. She’s reached two finals, and raised her ranking to the No.16. Yet, there’s one fear that remains with Osaka.

Naomi Osaka is afraid of becoming a “nostaglic” player.

Osaka reflected on her incredible journey ahead of her match with Noskova, recalling her breakthrough win at the 2018 US Open where she stunned Serena Williams to claim her first Grand Slam title. Since then, she added three more major trophies to her collection. After taking a break to welcome her first daughter, she’s back in 2025 facing a whole new generation of competitors.

“When I first came up, all of my favourite players were still around,” Naomi Osaka said with a smile, listing Serena and Venus Williams along with Maria Sharapova as the nostalgic stars she admired. “Now I’m a little stressed and I’m wondering if I’m a nostalgic player for some people! But yeah, I think tennis has evolved a lot. Everyone moves pretty well, and everyone can hit a winner. So it’s a little bit different.”

She reached the Auckland final but retired with an abdominal injury, made it to the third round at the Australian Open, and won her first clay court title at the WTA 125 Saint-Malo. Osaka also reached the Canadian Open final and the US Open semifinals, where she fell to Amanda Anisimova after a solid run that included beating Coco Gauff.

With her Asian swing still underway in Tokyo and beyond, there’s plenty of excitement about the possibility that Naomi Osaka will charge back for another title soon. What do you think?