Naomi Osaka seemingly has the game that should translate to excellence on grass courts, but so far, that hasn't unfolded. Her powerful serve and excellent groundstrokes have not produced any titles on grass. Her best showing at Wimbledon was reaching only the third round three times.
She entered the Bad Homburg Open hoping to change her career narrative on grass, while also preparing for Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, June 29. The sixth-seed won her opening match with ease, but her round of 16 opponent, Elise Mertens, promised to be much more difficult.
Mertens stunned Alexandra Eala in straight sets in her opening match at the tournament, and the Belgian has the kind of easy power that should have given Osaka issues. The problem for Mertens was that she was busy beating herself early in her match versus Osaka.
Naomi Osaka defeats Elise Mertens at the 2026 Bad Homburg Open
The Belgian had five double faults by the time the second set reached 3-1 in favor of the Japanese player. Osaka had already taken the first set 6-3, and led the set 5-0 before Mertens mounted a mini, and ultimately futile, comeback. To change the presumed outcome of the match, Mertens needed to be much better, but she struggled with her serve too much.
Osaka did exactly what she needed to on her service games, though. She landed her first serve well and finished points quickly. That is the exact kind of form she will need to win Wimbledon. She was proving against Mertens that her skills should be scary to the rest of the WTA field in London. She just needs more consistency from match to match.
Elise Mertens never had a real chance to make major inroads on a comeback attempt because even while she began to hold more, she wasn't truly coming close to breaking Osaka. Though Osaka has missed several tournaments in 2026 with a minor injury, she is showing the form on grass that maybe she has never had. To finish off the second set, she broke Mertens at love to take the set 6-3.
In the Bad Homburg Open quarterfinals, Naomi Osaka will face a much more difficult opponent, though she doesn't yet know which one. She will take on either Ekaterina Alexandrova or, more likely, two-seed Mirra Andreeva. Andreeva has the shot-making ability that could give Osaka a very difficult time. That match will occur on Thursday.
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