Released on September 2, 2025
Naomi osaka announced the manager’s performance to knock out third seeded Coco Goff 6-3, 6-2 in the highly anticipated fourth showdown between the two former US Open champions.
After years of intense disappointment in the final tennis major of the year, Osaka showed her old flash of glow on Monday when they controlled the match from the start, with 2023 champion Gouf struggling with her forehand and service.
As a result, Osaka was taken to the Flushing Meadows quarterfinals for the first time in five years. She then plays Czech 11th seed Karolina Mciba.
Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who won New York in 2018 and 2020, said:
“For me, honestly, when I play against the best players, I enjoy the most.”
Monday’s showdown marked the first time the two fan favorites met in New York since the memorable 2019 contest when the then 15-year-old Gauff lost to Osaka.
Fans who continued chatting in their previous matches at Arthur Ash Stadium were silent as the two began their fight, and Osaka defeated Gouf from the baseline in their first game with a great first set.
Gauff has spent months trying to rebuild her serve and was once again disappointed as he created a double fault in Set Point, one of five in the entire match.
Mistakes began to pile up on the Americans. The American handed Osaka another breakpoint in the sixth game of the second set, venting her frustration at her box during the final match, telling her coach that “nothing is working.”
Gouf took a shot on the net at matchpoint and bowed, and after Osaka smiled in a calm celebration, the pair temporarily hugged the net.
“I’m a little sensitive. I don’t want to cry. I had so much fun here,” Osaka said.
“Thank you to my team. We went through a lot. It wasn’t easy, but they were by my side.”
Osaka’s comeback was built on belief
Every time Osaka reached the final eight of her major, she shook the trophy. She wants to maintain that track record in New York.
She won the final of four Grand Slam titles at the 2021 Australia Open. He then retreated from Roland Garros to protect her mental health after revealing her personal struggle with depression.
The Japanese player skipped Wimbledon and announced that she would take a break from the performance, leaving the US in tears after an unexpected third round defeat later that year. She also took maternity breaks during the 2023 season.
She finally seemed to have regained her mojo after reaching the Montreal final last month after her first seven slams after the maternity break.
The partnership with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski appears to be at work, and said Osaka doesn’t doubt he can return to this stage in the majors.
“You have to imagine it, and you have to believe it for it to actually happen,” she told reporters.
And despite her struggle, Osaka never thought of abandoning the sport forever.
“It’s very scary to hang a racket for me forever,” she said. “It’s like breathing air to me.”
Swiatek cruises to a quarter
Laser-focused, Iga Swiatek barely sweated as the former US Open champion systematically demolished Russia’s 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1 and booked back to the New York quarterfinals.
The 24-year-old crushing victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium meant that 18-year-old Maria Sharapova became the youngest woman to reach the quarter finals of all four grand slams in a single season since she managed the feat in 2005.
Swiatek said he was typing furiously on the phone as he was waiting for an interview on the court afterwards, and was sending a message to coach Wim Fissette.
“If possible, I asked him to book a practice court for 10 minutes,” said World Number 2 before explaining that she worked well in helping her reach her 13th major quarter final.
“I’ll say the intensity and focus. At first she played fast and the court felt different. After that, I wanted to find my rhythm, but I was in the bubble.
“I forced the ball. I’m happy with the quality.”
Polish second seed then faces Amanda Anisimova in a repeat of the Wimbledon final.
