Naomi Osaka has claimed she is “better” than she was back in 2021 after returning to the fourth round of the Miami Open.
Former world No 1 Osaka battled past American wildcard Hailey Baptiste 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 on Saturday to seal her spot in the second week of the WTA 1000 event.
At two hours and 59 minutes in length, the match was the longest win of the Japanese’s career and continues her best run of form since the Auckland Open in January.
Osaka was forced to retire injured in the Auckland final and then retired in the third round of the Australian Open, before a defeat in her comeback match at Indian Wells.
However, a resurgent run at the Miami Open has seen her defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva and 24th seed Liudmila Samsonova – before her memorable victory against Baptiste.
Osaka has not won a WTA title since the 2021 Australian Open, which was a fourth Grand Slam title for the 27-year-old.
Since then, the Japanese has taken intermittent periods away from the sport due to her mental health, and then missed the entirety of the 2023 season due to pregnancy.
Osaka’s return from maternity leave at the start of 2024 has seen the former world No 1 struggle with finding her form and with injury, though she now holds a 9-3 record for 2025.
And, under the guidance of coach Patrick Mouratoglou, she believes she is “better” than ever ahead of the summer.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m better than 2021,” said Osaka.
“You know, COVID really set me back, I’m not going to lie. I was in the house doing nothing.
“But yeah, I think I’m definitely faster than 2021. I think I was a teenager in 2018, so should I really compare myself? I don’t know. But fitness-wise [I’m] definitely the best I’ve been in a couple of years, for sure.
“This year, I’ve played already a couple of scrappy matches. I think the fight kind of got me over it. Then I realized, like, you need to play a lot of matches like that to be, I guess, one of the great ones.”
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Osaka holds a perfect 5-0 record in three-set matches in 2025 and may need to be ready to battle once again in the fourth round, where she is set to face sixth seed Jasmine Paolini.
World No 7 Paolini has struggled to hit the heights of her historic 2024 campaign so far this season, with a mixed 11-5 record for 2025.
The Italian progressed to the fourth round after 31st seed Ons Jabeur retired injured in the opening set of their third-round meeting on Saturday.
Monday’s fourth-round clash will be the first meeting between the two women, with the winner set to face either third seed Coco Gauff or Magda Linette in the last eight.
No matter the outcome of her match against Paolini, Osaka has secured a significant rise in the WTA Rankings.
The world No 61 has moved up five spots to world No 56 in the WTA Live Rankings, with 1,049 ranking points as things stand.
However, should she go on to defeat Paolini, Osaka would be projected to hold 1,144 ranking points and, in all likelihood, move back inside the top 50.
Current world No 50 Marie Bouzkova holds 1,142 ranking points.
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