Naomi Osaka heading the 'right direction' despite US Open defeat, says former world number one

Former world number one Kim Clijsters believes that Japan’s tennis star Naomi Osaka is ‘going in the right direction’ despite recent setback at the US Open. The 26-year-old is a former world number one and has won notable number of events in the early phase of her career.

The Osaka-born star returned to the court earlier this year after spending more than 12 months on the sidelines because of pregnancy. Her return, however, has not gone according to the plan as she has found it hard to produce good result consistently.

Osaka’s most recent appearance came at the US Open where she was knocked out after losing in the second round to the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6. Before that result, she defeated world number six and 2017 French Open winner Latvia’s Jeļena Ostapenko in the opening round of the competition in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

Clijsters recently appeared in a podcast with the former men’s world number one Andy Roddick. The 41-year-old was of the opinion that Osaka is going in the ‘right direction’. Clijsters believes that if the former world number continues to put the hard work in, she can cause more damage to her opponent in the near future. “She’s doing all the right things, going in the right direction,” she said. “If she can keep putting the work in and finding enjoyment, she can definitely cause some more damage.”

Despite words of encouragement from Clijsters, Osaka’s 2024 season has been largely a disappointment. She participated in the main round of every Grand Slam but failed to qualify in the third round or beyond of any event. In the Australian Open, she lost in the first round to France’s Caroline Garcia in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6. In the French Open, Osaka’s journey came to an end in the second round when she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek with a score of 7-6, 1-6, 7-5. At Wimbledon, she crashed out of the event after losing in the round of 64 to America’s Emma Navarro in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-1.