Naomi Osaka fought through pain and emotion to secure a hard-fought victory at the Japan Open, booking her place in the quarter-finals after defeating defending champion Suzan Lamens on Wednesday.
The top-seeded star, playing her first singles tournament in Japan in three years, triumphed 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-2, setting up a last-eight clash against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
“Emotionally I was going through a lot in this match,” Osaka admitted after the win. “And then in the third set I tried my best to have no regrets.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion appeared visibly emotional at the end of the match — bending over and placing her hand on her face after sealing victory with a backhand winner before walking to the net in tears.
Osaka’s dominant start in the final set, where she raced to a 5-0 lead, was interrupted by a medical timeout after she appeared to injure her left leg. She returned to court with heavy strapping on her thigh, lost the next two games, but held on to close out the match in two hours and twenty minutes.
“I couldn’t really move that well,” the former world No. 1 explained. “It’s not good, but I think I’m a fast healer, so it should be OK for my next match.”
She also revealed that she took painkillers during the match to manage the discomfort.
The 27-year-old has been enjoying a strong return to form this season — her first since reaching the US Open semi-finals, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. Before that, Osaka had not advanced past the second week of a Grand Slam since winning the Australian Open in 2021.
Currently ranked No. 16 in the world, Osaka continues to rebuild momentum as she looks to reclaim her place among the elite in women’s tennis — and her emotional victory on home soil was another powerful step in that journey.
