Osaka Continues Her Groundbreaking Season with a Wimbledon Milestone

It has been a spring and summer of long awaited breakthroughs for Naomi Osaka. 

(No, we’re not talking about her fashion, though that has been remarkable as well).

The four-time major champion has often spoken of her desire to improve her game on clay and grass in recent years, but until 2026 her efforts in that department did not bear fruit – her first seven Roland-Garros and her first six Wimbledon appearances did not net a single trip to the second week. 

2026 has been a different story, as the Japanese star has now reached the second week at both. 

She played the round of 16 in Paris, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets (she is now 11-8 lifetime in Paris), and today she continued her strong play at Wimbledon with a 6-1 6-3 win over Daria Kasatkina. Osaka has not dropped a set through three rounds, and in fact has lost just 15 games. 

Osaka, who made her debut at Wimbledon in 2017, is now 10-5 lifetime at the championships. 

She will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Jelena Ostapenko next. 

If it is Sabalenka, she will have the chance to demonstrate her improvement against a player who has won all three matches they have played this year, at Indian Wells, Madrid and Roland Garros.