After clinching her quarterfinal victory at the 2025 US Open, doing so while wearing a bedazzled lilac-colored outfit, Naomi Osaka admitted that the different dresses she wears on the court can change her into different characters. At this moment, no matter the sartorial choice, Osaka is quickly morphing into at least one character that she knows all about emulating: a US Open champion.
Osaka, the No. 23 seed and two-time winner of the US Open, advanced to the semifinals of this year’s edition with her 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday evening. This comes off the heels of dispatching 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 on Monday, when she dropped just five games.
Though she admitted to nerves before her first-round match this year—and got emotional when recalling sitting in the Ashe stands just two years ago, not too long after giving birth—the time that Osaka has spent on the court this fortnight has also reinforced the muscle memory and good vibes from days past in New York, where she won titles in 2018 and 2020.
Last year’s return to the US Open began with another fashion statement—a series of bows, including a large one on the back of her warm-up—and ended with a loss to the woman who was also Wednesday night's opponent, Muchova, in the second round. Osaka also mentioned during the on-court interview that one of the disappointing aspects of her loss to the Czech in 2024 was coming up second-best in an outfit that she really liked.
But in their rematch, not only did she look good and feel good, Osaka played good tennis. 30 winners to just 19 unforced errors good. Breaking Muchova on three of her four break-point opportunities good.
Championship-worthy good.
Her return to her retro self started earlier this summer, when Osaka changed coaches after the event in Washington, D.C., and hired Tomasz Wiktorowski to be her coach. In the ensuing tournament, Osaka made a run to the final of the WTA 1000 event in Montreal, losing to Victoria Mboko. But even before Canada, Osaka took solace in a defeat to Emma Raducanu in D.C., believing that the right fit (not talking fashion) on the tennis court after her long journey back to fitness was just around the corner.
“I called a roundtable of my team, and I was just, like, very confused [at] how confident I was in myself, because even though I lost, I just remember telling them, ‘I think I can beat anyone from the baseline still even though I lost,’ and we just have to figure out if I have to change my game plan or if I just have to do something new and different,” Osaka said Thursday at her post-match press conference. “Then obviously Tomasz came in the picture, and we've kind of been on a roll since then.”
She’s been on a roll in Flushing so far, winning 10 of her 11 sets. The combination of her scintillating form and championship pedigree on hard courts is a worrying sign for any who come up against the four-time Grand Slam champion going forward.
“Honestly, I was the most nervous for my first-round match and my [third-round] match against [Daria] Kasatkina. I don't know why. I just was,” Osaka said. “But I think for me it's very strange, the deeper I go in a tournament, the less nervous I become, unless it's a final, potentially. I don't know. I haven't been there in a while. Just because I know I have to give it my best shot.”
Osaka’s next test is No. 8 seed and 2025 Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova, who exorcised some demons from being blanked in that final in London when she defeated Iga Swiatek in their rematch during the other quarterfinal match earlier on Wednesday.
“Definitely for me she's always been one of the most talented players on tour,” Osaka said in previewing her match with Anisimova. “I think no one wants to see her name next to theirs, especially with what she would potentially do.”
No one wants to see Naomi Osaka’s name next to theirs, either, with what Naomi potentially could do—and has already done, twice—in New York.
