Coco Gauff may find herself navigating uncharted waters as she aims to defend her US Open title this year. With Naomi Osaka making a stunning comeback to the court, things have changed radically in the space of only a year. After her daughter Shai was born in July 2023, Naomi Osaka took a life-changing 15-month break from tennis. With this she became one of three former No. 1-ranked, former Australian Open champions returning to Melbourne Park for the first time as moms. Subsequently, now that she has competed in multiple tournaments since her return, she recently stated that she is keen to have a big influence at the US Open.

The former world number one defeated Clara Burel in the Italian Open‘s first round recently. In an open interview with Tennis Channel, she revealed details about her performances and disclosed her plans for the near future. She stated, “I feel honestly pretty good tennis-wise. I obviously haven’t gotten as many matches as that, I wanted to and results wise I think Doha the quarterfinal there was my best result. So, I’m hoping that it’ll pick up soon.”

She also stated that she was determined to return to her peak performance by September, which happens to be US Open season. Moreover, the four-time Grand Slam champion alluded to her hopes of winning the next Grand Slam competition without specifically naming any players, but subtly warning the reigning champion of the challenges that lie ahead. Osaka added, “I told people like September, US hard court swing is probably where maybe hopefully, I’ll make a really big result but other than that I’m just going to keep trying as hard as I can.”

In 2018, Osaka defeated 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams in the final of the US Open, becoming the first Japanese player, male or female, to win a singles Grand Slam title. The now-26-year-old tennis player rallied for a thrilling 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, winning her second US Open championship in 2020, finishing the competition with a strong record.

On the athletic note, just a few days ago, the former world number one mocked herself while praising the rising tennis players, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

Osaka praised Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka 

During a recent conversation, Naomi Osaka acknowledged her own incapacity to understand Iga Swiatek’s ability to hold the top spot and showed her appreciation for it. In addition, Osaka stated that she hoped to face Sabalenka and Swiatek in the future. When asked what she thought of Swiatek, she stated, “Yeah, I mean, I always say this, but I think she’s incredible.” 

During the talk, she also praised Aryna Sabalenka’s outstanding achievements and said she was “fun” to watch. The Japanese player stated, “I also think watching Sabalenka doing so well is super, super fun. I hope that I’m able to play them both one day.” In addition, she stated that she would like to play against Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in the future, indicating that she is ready for difficult matches against elite players.