Naomi Osaka Builds Her Road to Grand Slam Greatness One Step at a Time

Naomi Osaka registered her second-quickest completed tour-level win of her career, cruising past Anastasija Sevastova in just 49 minutes in the fourth round of the Canadian Open.

Naomi Osaka Builds Her Road to Grand Slam Greatness One Step at a Time

Naomi Osaka (image via National Bank Open)

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Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has had a season filled with many challenges, often facing early exits in tournaments. However, her Canadian Open campaign has seen quite a turnaround. She commenced her campaign after parting ways with coach Patrick Mouratoglou and having Iga Swiatek‘s former coach Tomasz Wiktorowski join her for a trial period in Montreal.

Entering the match, Osaka had a 2-2 head-to-head record over the Latvian. Moreover, Sevastova had upset two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula in her previous round in Montreal. However, she couldn’t find the same level against Osaka. Speaking about reaching the quarterfinal in Montreal, the 27-year-old commented:

It’s odd. I spoke with my father, and he said that being healthy and happy is already a form of success. I agree with that, but I want more. Of course, I would like to win Grand Slams, of course, I would like to be in the top ten, but I think I have to go step by step and set smaller goals, which over time will become bigger goals. Being in the quarterfinals here is a step towards, hopefully, reaching the semifinals and the final, so I will try to see it more like that.

Her run is going pretty well, as she has reached the quarterfinal of a WTA 1000 or higher tournament for the first time since the Qatar Open in 2024. In the second round of the Canadian Open, Osaka bravely came back after being two match points down against 2023 finalist Liudmila Samsonova to secure the win in three sets. However, a more stunning and dominant performance came in the fourth round with Osaka registering her second-quickest completed tour-level win of her career, cruising past Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in just 49 minutes.

In the pair’s first meeting as mothers, Osaka was impeccable, winning more than double her opponent’s points, 53 to 21, and converting all five of her break points. She had 0 double faults and hit 13 winners, including five aces, to Sevastova’s one. Osaka will next face another mom on tour, tenth seed Elina Svitolina, as she bids to reach her first WTA 1000 (or higher) semifinal since the Miami Open in 2022.

Naomi Osaka on ‘funny’ new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski

Naomi Osaka started working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou in September last year after parting ways with coach Wim Fissette, who is currently working with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. With Fissette, Osaka clinched the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open titles. However, she struggled to perform consistently under Mouratoglou and announced her split from him last week. She is now with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, about whom she had plenty of good things to say earlier during the tournament:

Naomi Osaka Tomasz Wiktorowski
Naomi Osaka and Tomasz Wiktorowski (image via Getty)

I think with personality I was a little nervous because he seems a little stern, but he’s actually kind of funny. He’ll randomly say a joke that I wasn’t expecting or something like that. I like him a lot…he seems very decisive with what he wants. And think that that makes it very clear for me.

Wiktorowski coached Polish tennis stars Agnieszka Radwanska from 2011 to 2018 and Iga Swiatek from the end of 2021 to October 2024. With Wiktorowski, Swiatek clinched the first five of her six Grand Slams.

Naomi Osaka’s upcoming quarterfinal

Naomi Osaka has a 4-3 head-to-head record over her upcoming opponent Elina Svitolina, winning in their last two encounters. They have always met on hard court, and their last meeting took place in the second round of the Miami Open last year.

Naomi Osaka Canadian Oen 2025
Naomi Osaka (image via National Bank Open)

Svitolina is yet to drop a set in Montreal. She cruised past fifth seed Amanda Anisimova in her previous round to reach her fourth WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the season. It is also the Ukrainian’s fourth time reaching the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open. Her best result in this tournament came in 2017 when she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the final.