Naomi Osaka’s Washington Open run has been brought to a close by an inspired Emma Raducanu.
The former British number one, who is enjoying an unprecedented run across both the singles and doubles in DC, has been thriving since moving from Wimbledon to America.
It feels like she is hitting her stride at the perfect time to enjoy a strong summer and be in a great spot for the US Open.
For Naomi Osaka, however, this marks yet another disappointing run against an opponent she will have felt she could have beaten.
Reacting to the defeat, she even addressed whether she wanted to play Emma Raducanu ever again.
Naomi Osaka reacts to losing to Emma Raducanu at the Washington Open
Osaka spoke at length after last night’s heavy defeat, analysing her game whilst also rating Raducanu’s performance.
Starting with the former, she began by pinpointing what she had been working on ahead of the Washington Open: “I think honestly I have been working on my return a lot, and ironically I don’t think it was that bad today. I think she served quite well. I guess just keep working on that, working on my serve. I know it’s one of my biggest weapons.
“Today the percentages were off, so hopefully improving that. Then I guess just baseline tennis. I feel like from the baseline, like, I was doing pretty well. I think there are certain situations where she got one more ball back and I was kind of just looking and waiting. So kind of getting more accustomed to being comfortable being aggressive.
When asked about how it felt to actually play the Brit as opposed to simply watching her, Osaka continued: “Oh. So when I say I watched her, it might not have necessarily been her tennis. Might have been like interviews and stuff like that.
“Yeah, I mean, I watched her in Wimbledon, but I think it is different playing someone in real life than playing them or seeing them on TV.
“So I think for me, honestly, it was really good to get the experience, to feel how her ball is. Yeah, hopefully I can play her again one day.
Naomi Osaka speaks about her relationship with other players on tour
This was not all that Osaka touched on in her press conference, though, with the Japanese tennis star expanding on what life is really like on tour, and how she maintains relationships with her fellow players.
Asked if she would like to get to know Raducanu and her other competitors better, she admitted: “I mean, yes, but I don’t know.
“I don’t know if I’m, like, I look scary or something, but I have been saying hi to everyone for the past year and a half since I have been back, and I think they still think I’m kind of like extremely introverted and/or have RBF. So we haven’t really, like, proceeded past the “Hi, how are you doing” phase.”
Osaka admitted she felt confused after her defeat to Raducanu, having played much better than the scoreline suggested.
Alas, it is the 22-year-old who will now contest tonight’s quarter-final, whilst Osaka has once again been left to lick her wounds and look ahead to the next event.
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