Naomi Osaka: I just want to compete with the top players

On March 18, local time, the first round of women's singles competition at the 2025 WTA Miami station began, and four-time Grand Slam women's singles champion Naomi Osaka overcame a 3-6/2-4 deficit in the game, and finally achieved a reversal of 3-6/6-4/6-3, achieving the first victory in the singles main draw of the tour since the Australian Open this season.

Naomi Osaka data map

In this match, Naomi Osaka's opponent was the Ukrainian teenager Starodubtseva who broke through from the qualifying round, and the young player's solid baseline hit the ball brought her a lot of pressure, but after two and a half hours of fierce battle, it was Naomi Osaka who won in the end. "If necessary, I run to every corner of the pitch. If she wants to win me, then we'll play for three hours. Naomi Osaka said in a post-match interview.

Last week at Indian Wells, Naomi Osaka lost to Osorio in the first round, when she described herself as "the worst game of her life". After that, Naomi Osaka chose to come to Miami early to prepare for the tournament and do a week-long training camp to adapt to the conditions and try to regain fitness. Those efforts were evident in the crucial moments of the first round, when Naomi Osaka, who scored 27 winning points and 10 aces throughout the match, stubbornly reversed Starodubtseva with a steady play on key points in the second half of the match.

Naomi Osaka reached her first tour final since 2022 at the WTA Auckland this season, but she withdrew from that tournament with an abdominal injury that also forced her to retire in the third round at the Australian Open. Naomi Osaka said: "It was definitely a bit disappointing to get injured at the start of the season, especially since I thought I was playing well. I think my nervousness has something to do with it. I really want to play against the best. I see everybody playing so well and I want to do the same. But I have to remember that it's a process. ”

At the same time, Naomi Osaka said that last year's match against Swiatek at the French Open still inspires her to this day. "That match was really important for me because I was usually not very happy with my performance on clay. To be able to play so well against her is really uplifting, after all, she has won three or four French Open titles. Sometimes when I'm not in good shape, like today, I think about that game. ”

Naomi Osaka reached the WTA Women's Singles final in Miami in 2022, where she lost to Swiatek and finished runner-up. After successfully advancing to the second round of the tournament, Naomi Osaka will face 24th seed Samsonova across the net.

(Text, editor: Dato, photo: Visual China)