Naomi Osaka’s campaign at the 2026 United Cup came to an end on Sunday, January 4, despite the Japanese’s best efforts on the day. Osaka took on Katie Swan of Great Britain, and won 7-6(4), 6-1 to register her first win of the new season.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was initially set to face Emma Raducanu in the battle, but the Brit withdrew at the last minute due to an injury. Osaka found out about the withdrawal only minutes before the match, but by her own admission, it did not affect her mentally for what came afterwards.
“Honestly for me, that didn’t really change my preparation. I’m the type of person that goes in there focusing on myself. Yeah, I mean, I kind of learned last minute, but didn’t really matter all too much to me anyway,” Osaka said in her press conference afterwards.
Naomi Osaka was also nursing some fitness concerns at the United Cup this week, especially in the first match she played against Maria Sakkari. After that loss to the Greek, Osaka had confirmed that it was an illness she had caught from her daughter, and was slightly worried about what it meant for her Australian Open preparation.
However, all that has now been cleared as well. The former World No. 1 is entirely confident that she will be fit and ready to go in Melbourne later this month, saying in her press conference:
“I definitely do feel better every day. But it’s ironic, literally every time someone asks me, I say yes, then I start coughing. I’m just not going to jinx myself. Yeah, I definitely… I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with the cough. I think it will be fine for Australian Open.
Japan had lost to Greece 3-0 in their opener at the United Cup. In a must-win rubber vs Great Britain, they fell 2-1, with Osaka earning their sole win at the event. Earlier, Shintaro Mochizuki went down against Billy Harris, while Yasutaka Uchiyama & Nao Hibino lost the deciding mixed doubles clash vs Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls.
Naomi Osaka on her first experience at the United Cup
Speaking after Japan’s exit from the United Cup, Naomi Osaka also shared her thoughts on her first experience at the tournament. The Japanese stated that she found it ‘fun’ and that the team atmosphere was ‘incredible’ for her, especially her experience on the bench and cheering for her teammates.
She said:
“I think for me it’s definitely really been fun. I’ve always wanted to play and I’ve as wanted to see what it’s about. Just to be here with this team was really incredible. Like I feel like I made a lot of really good memories for the start of the year.”
“Honestly, I had a lot of fun cheering on the bench. Like, it was really cool. Yeah, I just enjoyed it a lot. So I’m thankful.”
As of now, Osaka has not committed to any other tournament before the Australian Open. Last year, she reached the third round in Melbourne, before retiring with an injury against Belinda Bencic.
Read More Tennis News:
Real Reason Behind Emma Raducanu’s Shock United Cup Withdrawal Against Naomi Osaka Revealed
Madison Keys Makes It Clear Why She Isn’t Like Emma Raducanu In Facing Pressure Of Maiden Slam Win
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