Opportunity Knocks For Osaka, Who Is No Longer Running Scared on the Grass

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday July 3, 2025

Photo Source: Henry Nicholls/Getty

We’ve heard so much about who is OUT of the Wimbledon women’s singles draw – can you say No.2, No.3, No.4 and No.5 seeds? – but what about who is in?

Enter four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who reached the third round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2018.

Osaka, ranked 53, will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a spot in the second week of a major, and if she can get through that match she’ll have reached the second week at a Slam for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open.

The 27-year-old says she is trying to keep her expectations low after a season that has seen her put up some solid results, but nothing earth-shattering by her own lofty standards.

“I’m kind of going with the flow,” Osaka told reporters after defeating Katerina Siniakova on Day 3. “I had a talk with Patrick before this tournament about expectations, so I’m literally taking it one point at a time, and I’m not trying to think about the rounds too much.”

Movement? “A Lot More Comfortable”

For Osaka on the grass, it’s always been a challenge. She says she is feeling more comfortable on the surface than she has in a while, however.

In recent years, Osaka has been worried about hurting herself on the slippery surface, but she’s no longer running scared on the grass.

“I think definitely this year I feel a lot more comfortable moving on grass,” she said. “I know the last couple of years I was really scared to move, because when I was younger, I strained my knee or whatever. It took a couple of years to get over that, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable.

“With age fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralyzed me in a way. Now I’m kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass. I think it is working, and I think I am moving pretty well.”