Victorious at the Saint-Malo tournament in 2025, Naomi Osaka, 16th in the WTA rankings, is preparing to compete in the United Cup under the Japanese banner. The player confided her impatience at the idea of starting.
Naomi Osaka is impatient. In a few days, on January 2 to be precise, the 16th WTA player will take part in this United Cup, the traditional first tournament of the year, a mixed one at that. For this 2026 edition, Japan was placed in Group E with Greece and the United Kingdom. In less than a week, Osaka will throw herself into the deep end against Maria Sakkari while her compatriot Shintaro Mochizuki will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
And it is precisely with a peaceful and competitive state of mind that Naomi Osaka approaches this competition for the first time in her career. In comments relayed by The Tennis Gazette, the Japanese said she felt good. “I will tell you after my first matches, but I think so,” slipped the four-time winner of a Grand Slam tournament (Australian Open 2019 and 2021, US Open 2018 and 2020). I feel like I’m improving every year, so I hope to be even better next year. »
Back to the forefront
Seeing Naomi Osaka with this smile and this state of mind is a pleasure to see, especially when we know all the ordeals she has gone through. Apart from a title in 2021 in Melbourne, the former world No. 1 did not have many opportunities to lift a trophy in 2022 and 2023. But she hung on and was able to return to the forefront last season. Victorious in the Saint-Malo tournament (against Kaja Juvan in two sets), finalist in Auckland and at the Canadian Open, the right-hander is determined to have fun. “Obviously I’ve never played the United Cup before, but I think I’ll try to approach it like the Billie Jean King Cup. Honestly, it’s to be able to play a few matches against excellent players. When I watch the United Cup, I see some really high-level matches and I’ve always wanted to be part of it, so I’m delighted to be here. »
