It was a dream and a long shot to come back to the US Open a year after having a baby and win a third US Open title. But Naomi Osaka sounded more optimistic and patient with herself than ever during the 2024 tournament, even after she lost to Karolina Muchova in Round 2 on Thursday night, 6-3, 7-6(5).
Confession: “I completely forgot that [Muchova] was in the semis last year until I heard her doing her interview behind me when we were about to walk on. I was, like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ She's very athletic. She has a lot of variety. I enjoy watching her play and playing her – even though sometimes it doesn't go my way.”
Compared to beating big-hitting Jelena Ostapenko in the first round in straight sets on Tuesday, Osaka said, “this match was so different. I had to keep fighting. I didn't feel like I was playing as perfectly as before. During the pressure moments I got nervous,” she said, suggesting that more matches might have helped. One such moment? She failed to convert on any of three consecutive set points at 5-4, 40-0 in the second set.
Either way, Osaka said, “I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better.”
Osaka’s schedule included all four majors as well as the Paris Olympics, where she lost in the first round to the 2016 US Open champion Angelique Kerber. The furthest Osaka advanced at any of the 2024 majors was the second round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows—though she held match points on Iga Swiatek in that match in Paris.
“The Australian Open was so fast,” she recalled [she lost to Caroline Garcia on the tournament's first Monday night]. “I enjoyed learning how to enjoy the French Open. I haven't been to Wimbledon in years, so it was nice to go back there. Obviously, the US Open is very special to me, so I enjoyed it here too.”
Returning to Arthur Ashe Stadium, too, “was really fun. I missed it a lot.”
“This year for me has been a learning year,” Osaka, whose win over Ostapenko was her first Top 10 triumph since 2021, said. “I put a lot of energy and effort into all the tournaments that I played.”
After a year away, Osaka said 2024 “wasn't like in 2022 [when] I was like the best version of myself. I had to catch up to that and then, also, I'm trying to pass it at the same time."
It's been a little difficult because I can only gauge how I'm doing by results. Like, I feel faster. I feel better, but I lost in the second round. I do take these losses really personally. I feel like my heart dies every time I lose … but I've been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.
“I feel like I'm working way harder than I've ever worked in my life, so it needs to turn into something. I think it will. I'm trying to take the flowers from everything.
“Even though I haven't got into a final, still, in my brain I think I can win these tournaments. Eventually, it will all piece itself together. It might not be on the timeline that I want, but I think it will come eventually.”
