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Naomi Osaka Stings Antonia Ruzic in Australian Open 1st Round Win

Naomi Osaka narrowly defeated Antonia Ruzic in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open.
Jamie Malachy|
Naomi Osaka during her first round win at the 2026 Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka during her first round win at the 2026 Australian Open. | IMAGO / AAP

Naomi Osaka came through a truly testing late-night challenge against an impressive Antonia Ruzic, eventually overcoming the young Croatian 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to move into the second round of the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena.

A thoroughly enjoyable encounter began with the four-time Grand Slam champion emerging onto Melbourne Park's most hallowed court wearing a self-designed Nike outfit that included a butterfly-embroidered hat, an umbrella, and a white, translucent, body-length veil, in a typically eye-catching statement of Osaka's iconic status within the sport and beyond.

The risk with such an entrance is that the performance might not live up to the audacity of its intro. And Ruzic, making her maiden main-draw appearance in Melbourne this evening, very nearly put a premature end to Osaka's bid for a third Australian Open title with a spirited performance of genuine quality.

Indeed, it was only the Croatian's second appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, having debuted in New York just five months ago. But for large sections of the match, the gulf in experience between the two players was indistinguishable, and Ruzic can take solace from a statement performance that fell agonisingly short of a career-defining victory.

Ruzic Falls Short

A break in the second game of the match set up a fast start for Osaka, before she was pegged back by her opponent in the fifth. But a pivotal breakthrough in game eight laid the platform for the two-time champion to serve out a deserved one-set lead.

Yet Ruzic - currently sitting at a career-high of 65th in the world - injected an impressive element of variety into her game across the second set, making particularly effective use of her premium down-the-line forehand to unsettle the former World No. 1.

The Croatian set the tone with a break of her opponent's serve in the second game of that middle stanza, one that was enough to take her to a 5-3 lead and earn her a crucial chance to serve out the set.

Under extreme pressure from Osaka, the 23-year-old impressively held firm, saving two break points at 15-40 down before a lighting issue delay of around ten minutes did little to ease the tension. On the restart, Ruzic regrouped well to haul herself over the line on her second set point as a forehand return from her opponent sailed wide.

In what had now become a highly physical battle, the pair traded further blows with a quickfire exchange of breaks across the second and third games of the decider. Ruzic then nudged ahead with what appeared to be a decisive blow in the seventh game, the Croatian now winning the lion's share of the extended rallies against the formidable baseline prowess of Osaka.

But the four-time Grand Slam champion was not to be denied. From 4-3 down and with her back very much against the wall, Osaka reeled off the final three games on the spin - earning two breaks of serve in the process - to clinch a desperately hard-fought win.

"She is an amazing player," Osaka said of her opponent in her on-court interview moments after sealing safe passage into round two. "I've never played her before and if we meet again I am pretty sure we will keep playing some really great matches.

"This is one of my favourite tournaments, and just to start the year off, it makes me very happy. I'm so grateful you [the crowd] stuck it out because we were the second night match, and I hope you enjoyed the match."

When the inevitable question came regarding her walk-on outfit, Osaka clarified that the butterfly was a nod to her last triumph at Melbourne Park, during which a butterfly famously landed on her cheek in the middle of one of her matches.

"Nike let me design this one," she explained. "It's modelled after a jellyfish. I'm so grateful I get to be able to do the things that I love, and it's really beautiful. There's a butterfly on the hat and the umbrella, which has to do with the Australian Open I won in 2021."

Osaka's Bid for a third Australian Open Title

Osaka's bid for a fifth Grand Slam title - five years after she won her fourth at this very tournament - remains just about on track.

Having yet to win a WTA title since her return from childbirth at the turn of the 2024 season, the former World No. 1 continues the resurgence she enjoyed across the second half of 2025, during which she reached the semi-finals of the US Open under the guidance of new coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski.

Osaka moves into the second round of the Australian Open for the ninth time in ten appearances, where she will face another stern test in Sorana Cirstea. The Romanian is in the opening stages of her farewell tour of tennis' sprawling calendar, and is an opponent capable of pulling off upsets against players of the highest calibre.

Whatever the sartorial nature of her pre-match walk-on, which will no doubt once again form a focal point of the discussion, Osaka will need to bring her best tennis against Cirstea to keep her campaign alight.

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Jamie Malachy
JAMIE MALACHY

Jamie Malachy is a freelance tennis journalist, aiming to provide a unique, nuanced and informative analysis of the sport he loves. He has been documenting tennis since 2019, and writing professionally since 2023. Working in collaboration with Tennis Majors and numerous other sports news outlets, personal highlights include covering six Grand Slam singles finals and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. You can reach him at: jamiemalachy@gmail.com

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