Naomi Osaka still has very high hopes for her career despite her constant injury struggles in recent times.
Osaka withdrew from the Dubai Tennis Championships, having been forced into the same decision for the Qatar Open shortly before.
That arrived after Osaka retired hurt at the Australian Open, where she won her first two matches before handing her third round opponent a walkover due to injury.
But the WTA superstar still has grand plans before she retires, with the 28-year-old eyeing a return to major success.
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Naomi Osaka wants to win another Grand Slam title
Osaka was asked by Hypebeast for something she still hopes to achieve as an athlete, to which she replied: “Hopefully to win another Slam, that would be a very big goal I’d love to set for myself, which I think is possible.
“It just sucks that I got injured in Australia.”
After knocking out Antonia Ruzic and Sorana Cirstea in Melbourne, she was unable to play against Maddison Inglis.
She said of the issue at the time: “Yeah, I mean, it’s an injury I’ve had a couple of times before, and I thought I could push through it.
“I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse, so yeah.”
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Naomi Osaka is capable of winning a fifth Grand Slam title
Osaka deserves immense credit for her fantastic career achievements so far, and her admirable efforts since returning from having a child.
She understandably hasn’t managed to reach the heights she once did, but hope remains that the 28-year-old is far from finished just yet, particularly on the big stage.
Despite her injury issues, she boasts a 3-1 record for the 2026 season, and has been able to return to the WTA top 20, currently ranked 16th.
| Top rank by year | Year-end ranking | |
| 14 | 2026 | – |
| 14 | 2025 | 16 |
| 56 | 2024 | 59 |
| 42 | 2023 | – |
| 13 | 2022 | 42 |
| 2 | 2021 | 13 |
| 3 | 2020 | 3 |
| 1 | 2019 | 3 |
| 4 | 2018 | 5 |
| 44 | 2017 | 68 |
| 40 | 2016 | 40 |
| 143 | 2015 | 203 |
| 238 | 2014 | 250 |
| 403 | 2013 | 430 |
| 1016 | 2012 | 1028 |
And while a fifth Grand Slam title will be a very tricky achievement, the former world number one simply cannot be ruled out of such success.
She was progressing well in Melbourne earlier this year, a tournament at which she feels very comfortable, having won the Australian Open twice.
Osaka also boasts two US Open titles and seven WTA career titles overall, a number that could very well increase in the near future.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 2018 | US Open | Hard | Serena Williams | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 2019 | Australian Open | Hard | Petra Kvitova | 7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–4 |
| Win | 2020 | US Open | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 2021 | Australian Open | Hard | Jennifer Brady | 6–4, 6–3 |
And given that all four of her Grand Slam titles have arrived on hard courts, it remains likely that another will arrive on the same surface, either in Australia or the United States.
But first she will be keen to overcome her injury struggles, which have really limited her time on the court in 2026.
Osaka is scheduled to play at Indian Wells next month, the site of her very first WTA title, which she won in 2018 as an unseeded 20-year-old.
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