Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her Mubadala Citi DC Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Yulia Putintseva on Tuesday, 6-2, 7-5, returning to hard courts with the confidence she says she’s still working to rebuild.
“I just tried to stay really calm,” Osaka said in her post-match press conference on July 22. “I know it got a little tight in the second but I’m happy with how I was able to find a way.”
The former world No. 1, now ranked back inside the WTA Top 50 after returning from maternity leave last year, will face Emma Raducanu in the second round — a matchup that marks their first-ever meeting.
“I’ve never played her before, so for me, that’s something really cool,” Osaka said. “I knew she was a good player… so I guess for our paths to finally cross is really cool.”
Osaka, 27, said shifting back onto hard court has helped her rediscover parts of her game, especially her serve, after months on clay and grass courts.
“I learned a lot of lessons from grass and clay that I am able to apply now,” Osaka said. “From grass, especially my serve, I’ve been able to do a couple of things. But, of course, I’m really happy to be back on hard.”
Though she’s a two-time U.S. Open champion on this surface, Osaka admits she still has some work to do.
“I have to be a little bit more confident in myself while also not putting pressure on myself, so it’s a little strange,” Osaka said. “The other day I was trying to tell myself that I won a couple of slams on this surface for a reason, so I need to believe in myself a lot more.”
Although Osaka hasn’t competed in the U.S. hard-court swing since 2021, the D.C. setting and fan response have been energizing.
“Seeing a bunch of little kids and thinking about the time when I was in their shoes and wanting to, I guess, get a picture with my favorite player, I try my best to, I guess, make time for everyone,” Osaka said.
Osaka is scheduled to face Raducanu on Thursday, July 24, with the winner advancing to the round of 16.
Picture Credit: Fox Sports Radio Photographer Joy Washington
