5 Jul 2025
- 0 Comments
Osaka Sheds Old Fears and Finds Her Game at Wimbledon 2025
Wimbledon has often felt like a test ground for Naomi Osaka, and not always a pleasant one. For years, grass courts made her uneasy. Picture this: a four-time Grand Slam winner, ice in her veins on hard courts, yet second-guessing her every move on the surface that defines tennis tradition. This year, though, the script is flipping. Osaka’s match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round was all about power and control. She took the first set 6-3, serving with precision and running the baseline like she owned it.
A huge part of Osaka's trouble with grass has been mental. Past knee injuries left her tentative, knowing that one wrong step could mean trouble. She admitted to feeling 'really scared to move' in previous seasons. Now, she's talking about feeling comfortable, and you can see it in her play—charging after balls she used to let go, bending low for shots instead of backing off. This isn't just better tennis. It’s a new attitude, possibly fueled by the biggest off-court development of her life: motherhood. Osaka landed at Wimbledon just after her daughter Shai’s second birthday, and that milestone seems to have shifted her priorities—and her courage.
A Path Opening Up: Could Osaka Go Deep This Year?
Her momentum didn’t show up overnight. Earlier in 2025, Osaka’s grass-court season started with a thud—a first-round exit in Berlin, where she let a one-set lead slip against Liudmila Samsonova. But something clicked. By the time she landed in London for Wimbledon 2025, she was stringing together straight-sets wins, and her trademark power was finally translating to the trickiest surface in the sport.
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou has been vocal about her progress. He sees the positivity: less frustration, more belief. After matches, her body language is relaxed, her voice upbeat. This is different from the Osaka of seasons past, who sometimes seemed weighed down by expectations—or her own fear of missteps.
Pundits can’t help but notice the opportunity in her draw, either. Familiar threats are gone early this year. If she gets past her third-round win, Osaka could face Amanda Anisimova or Linda Noskova—players talented, but not big names on grass. There’s no Serena, no Swiatek, no usual giants blocking her path. For the first time at this tournament, Osaka isn’t an underdog to the court itself.
For fans, seeing Osaka this loose and confident is refreshing. There’s grit in her game, but also a sense of joy. She’s in striking distance of her first ever fourth-round spot at Wimbledon, but maybe the bigger win is that she’s found her groove again on grass—no more paralyzing fear, just pure tennis.