Naomi Osaka was once the queen of the tennis world. She was ranked No. 1 and she had won four Grand Slams, but then due to lots of different struggles, some of them physical and some mental, she began to plummet with her tennis form.
Even before she paused her career, taking time off in part to have a child, she was not playing anywhere as well as she once did. Would the time away help her find her footing (literally) again?
It hasn't quite yet. Not completely. She won a title in early May in France in a minor tournament, and perhaps that would lead to more success. It didn't immediately but perhaps a good run at Wimbledon would change all that. She has the huge serve and bombastic forehands to make things tough on her opponents.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova stuns Naomi Osaka in the third round at Wimbledon 2025
In the third round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Osaka started brilliantly, taking the first set 6-3. The match verged on being a relatively easy one, but as if often the case on grass courts, things can change quickly. Pavlyuchenkova got the break she needed in the second set to win it 6-4 and even the match.
The Russian then got an early break in the third set as Osaka's shots from both wings began to go awry, and Pavlyuchenkova raced to a 3-0 lead in the final and decisive set. Osaka's time seemed to be quickly running out, and a dream run at Wimbledon dashed.
Instead, she found herself again, lacing winners down the line and holding with dominant serves. She evened the match at 3-all. She had a break chance against Pavlyuchenkova, but the Russian held. Osaka did the same in her next service game, and we appeared to be headed to a tie-break.
To be fair to Pavlyuchenkova, she was trying to make a dream run of her own at Wimbledon. She will have a chance to continue her run, too. The match did not go to a tie-break as Pavlyuchenkova got the final break and took the third set 6-4.
She could be a Cinderella story moving forward at Wimbledon, the 34-year-old former No. 6 has a brilliant serve which is going to keep opponents off balance. She will next face the winner of the Diane Parry and Sonay Kartal match.