Naomi Osaka Reveals Rafael Nadal’s Unique Roland Garros Stat Inspiring Her in 2026

Naomi Osaka defeated Iva Jovic in a hard-fought battle, clocking 2 hours and 58 minutes, to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in her career. Osaka needed 46 winners – including 12 aces – to seal the win 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4.

After the tough win, Osaka spoke at the press conference about how her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, inspired her with Rafael Nadal’s example. In his legendary career, Nadal amassed 14 Roland Garros titles, the most by any player at a Grand Slam. He had only lost four times in this tournament. Osaka remarked:

I don’t know if it’s accurate, but it’s been helping me out a lot. I don’t want to tell you guys the numbers, because I’m going to be totally wrong. He basically said Nadal has won 98% of his matches here, and he’s only won, like, 50% of the points. I just thought to myself, ‘I don’t have to win every single point, but I just have to try every single point, and hopefully it goes in my favor.’ That’s basically it.

Tennis is a numbers game 🔢

Naomi Osaka reflects on the stats after her third round win.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/MpIozOFJwx

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2026

Osaka is set to face Aryna Sabalenka in the next round. Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 2-1, with their most recent meeting taking place at the Madrid Open this year, where the Belarusian came back from a set down to defeat Osaka.

Osaka has shown steady progress after adding Wiktorowski to her team. Wiktorowski, who previously coached Iga Swiatek to four Grand Slam titles, joined Osaka’s team in July 2025. She reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since 2021 at the US Open last year.

She also reached a WTA 1000 final for the first time since 2022 in Canada last year. With Osaka’s present level and progress, her upcoming match against Sabalenka will surely be a tough battle for the World No. 1.

Naomi Osaka calls her on-court fashion a “part of me”

Naomi Osaka has turned heads by bringing fashion to the Grand Slams. For her Roland Garros campaign this year, the four-time Grand Slam champion is wearing a brown sequined dress, which she says makes her look like the Eiffel Tower.

Her fashion choices have been praised by many; however, they have also not sat well with many people, including her first-round opponent, Laura Siegemund. The German, who “couldn’t care less” about Osaka’s fashion choice, also alleged that Osaka received preferential treatment from the tournament organizers, especially when it comes to the time she takes to change her dress.

Osaka, however, defended her fashion choices at the press conference and spoke about the importance of self-expression:

I kind of consider it a part of me. So it’s not like I have to switch on or switch off when I’m playing tennis. It’s literally like my self expression. For me it would be weirder to wear a normal tennis kit almost at this point I think. I feel like it’s the fun of it. For a long time, I didn’t have fun for a little bit. You guys know that period of time in my life. So now I just want things to be fun and I want to make it exciting for myself.

Earlier this year at the Australian Open, Osaka wore a jellyfish-themed dress with a veil and held a white parasol. At last year’s US Open, she had sparkly red roses in her ponytail above her red dress and even a custom-made sparkling Labubu. Osaka also made headlines outside of the tennis court, as she graced the Met Gala this year with two different looks, a white dress and a red dress.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek Reveals What She Learned from Rafael Nadal During Practice Session at His Academy