Naomi Osaka Says She's Back: "I'm Better Than 2021"

On Saturday afternoon, Naomi Osaka outlasted Hailey Baptiste in a marathon three-hour match: 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4. It was the longest women's match of the Miami Open to this point.

Osaka's resilience and fitness were reminiscent of the most successful times in her career. Last year was Osaka's comeback from injuries and maternity leave, and 2025 could be her return to excellence.

During her post-match press conference on Saturday, a reporter asked Osaka, "Where would you say you are 15 months in from maternity leave as compared to where you were in vintage Grand Slam winner form?"

Osaka gave a confident answer, "Honestly, I feel like I'm better than 2021. You know, COVID really set me back, I'm not going to lie. I was in the house doing nothing."

The four-time Grand Slam champion added, "But yeah, I think I'm definitely faster than 2021. I think I was a teenager in, like, 2018, so should I really compare myself? I don't know. But yeah, fitness-wise definitely the best I've been in a couple of years, for sure."

Osaka referencing 2021 was no mistake, as that was the year she won her last Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. She ended up missing the French Open and Wimbledon that year and failing to defend her title at the US Open.

Osaka has never been short on confidence, and now her performance on the court is backing up the big talk. So far this year, she is 5-0 in matches that gave gone to three sets.

She explained, "This year, I've played already a couple 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."

Osaka is currently the WTA World No. 61 with a record of 9-3. She faces her biggest test yet in 6-seed Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round of the Miami Open on Monday, March 24. The two players have never faced each other on the tour level.

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