Naomi Osaka Reveals her WTA Rankings Goal for the Remainder of the 2025 Season

Naomi Osaka has revealed the WTA ranking spot she hopes to be at when the 2025 season finally comes to an end in November. The former World No.1 has gained her way back to the WTA elites and she’s currently ranked in the top 20 after her mind-blowing run during the North American hard-court swing.

Osaka made her first stunning breakthrough when she beat Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2018. She then went on to win three more Grand Slam titles before taking a break from the tour to give birth to her first daughter. She returned to the court last season but struggled on the court.

However, she began to find her form this season by first reaching the final of the Auckland Open in January, but missed out on the title after retiring in the second set. During the North American hard-court swing, she reached her first WTA 1000 final at the Canadian Open for the first time in over two years.

But she failed to claim the title as she lost to Victoria Mboko in the final of the tournament. At the US Open, she enjoyed a brilliant run, beating Coco Gauff in the round of 16 to reach the semi-finals, where she faced Amanda Anisimova, losing to the American star in three sets. Osaka is currently ranked World No.16 in the WTA rankings.

During an interview with Tennis365, Osaka was asked at what position in the rankings she would love to end her season. The Japanese star revealed that she would like to get back into the top 10 before the end of the season but doesn’t think much about it, despite it being her goal:

Of course, I want to finish the year among the top 10 players, but I don’t want to stress too much about it. During the US tour, when I had a good streak, I didn’t think much about the rankings, just about securing a place at this point. Tomasz told me there is a slight difference between being seed number 16 or something like that, so I think that’s my goal for the end of the year. Mentally, it was very tough for me today. It’s a challenging part of the season.

Osaka parted ways with Patrick Mouratoglou after exiting the second round of the Citi Open and hired Iga Swiatek’s ex-coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. Within a few weeks, there was a noticeable change in her game and she began to play better on the court. However, she’s still seeking her first WTA tour-level title of the season.

Naomi Osaka crashes out of the Wuhan Open after just one win

Naomi Osaka has failed to meet expectations in the ongoing Asian swing. The Japanese star shockingly fell to unseeded Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round of the China Open. She got her first win of the Asian campaign at the Wuhan Open after beating Leylah Fernandez, but was beaten by Linda Noskova in the second round.

Noskova had entered the Wuhan Open in good form after finishing as a runner-up at the China Open. The Czech Republic star needed just an hour and 28 minutes to beat Osaka 7-6(2), 6-3 at Dongfeng Voyah. Noskova revealed during her on-court interview that she tries to be humble going into each match:

I try to be as humble as possible, because every tournament is different. You have to step on a new court almost every single day. So I tried to focus just on this tournament, and leave what happened last week behind. But at the same time, I want to bring that confidence on court. So I have to take some percentage of it as well.

Noskova will now face Elena Rybakina for a place in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. The Czech Republic star has lost her two previous meetings against Rybakina, which came at the 2023 Roland Garros and 2024 Brisbane International and both in straight sets.

Also Read: Carlos Alcaraz to Play Amateurs in Million Dollar 1 Point Slam Before 2026 Australian Open

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