How Losing to Iga Swiatek Gave Naomi Osaka Confidence

Naomi Osaka is currently in the midst of hard court season. All four of Osaka's Grand Slam titles have come on the hard surface. She has the Cincinnati Open today and the US Open later this month.

However, Osaka is already looking forward to clay court season next year. Earlier this summer, Osaka lost to Iga Swiatek in the second round of the French Open: 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5.

Despite losing the three-set battle, Osaka said the match did wonders for her confidence. "You know, that Iga match did wonders for my confidence, I'm not going to lie. I'm optimistically looking forward to clay next year."

Naomi Osaka says her match against Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros did wonders for her confidence, ‘I’m optimistically looking forward to clay next year’

“This whole week we talked about obviously your love of the hard courts, but l'm curious because you also played like a pretty… pic.twitter.com/H0Udr9IaYL
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 11, 2024

Osaka continued, "Grass, I'm looking at it from a distance (laughing), but I'm willing to learn. l'm going to watch a lot of tapes of Serena. That's kind of a next-year thing. I think for me now I'm really focusing on US Open, Asia, that's kind of the areas that I thrive, so l'm, I don't know, looking forward to it."

Osaka's comeback tour is still a work in progress. She lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Emma Navarro, Angelique Kerber in the first round at the Paris Olympics, and Elise Mertens in the second round of the Canadian Open.

Osaka will face Ashlyn Krueger in the Cincinnati Open today at 12:30 p.m. EST. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport and beyond.

Further Reading: Naomi Osaka wants to change her Instagram aesthetic.