US OPEN

August 30, 2025

Naomi Osaka

Press Conference

N. OSAKA/D. Kasatkina

6-0, 4-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again. Moving on. Your thoughts on your play today.

NAOMI OSAKA: Honestly, I don't think I played that well, but I think mentally I was just trying to, like, fight for everything. I know that it was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster.

Yeah, overall just happy to have won.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You talked about the journey of the match. How important is that step in that journey, making it to the fourth round?

NAOMI OSAKA: Like, the match in particular or like this entire process?

Q. The process and how moving into the fourth round for the first time in years.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, definitely. I think honestly since I've come back I kind of wanted everything to happen really quickly. So I think it took, I keep saying like after Wimbledon, but for me to just completely not even think about results anymore and just try to focus on every match by itself.

I did good in Montreal, and now we're here. I'm just really happy about that. Definitely pleased. I think Tomasz has been really cool to work with too.

As a journey, it's not something that I really pictured, but I'm glad to be living it.

Q. In the second set, after having won a one-sided first set when Daria was struggling and you were playing well, things turned, and you seemed to be getting quite frustrated. There was a shadow on the court and lots of things going on. I just wondered, do you preplan at all for if X happens with the score and I feel like this, then I'm going to do Y in order to try to get back on track?

NAOMI OSAKA: No. Honestly, I'm not the type of person that does that because I don't even like looking at the score. For me, honestly, there are some matches where I'm, like, surprised if the game ends or something because I keep trying to focus on one point at a time.

But yeah, definitely you're supposed to have game plans and backup plans. I think for me rather than it being a game plan, it was more like me trying to calm myself down, because I felt like very nervy, shaky. I know I was, like, yelling, Come on a lot, yeah.

Q. Your next opponent is Coco. You played her here six years ago at this point. I'm sort of curious what your recollections are of that match and what happened after.

NAOMI OSAKA: My recollections were that I remember just knowing that she was going to be a really great tennis player, which I was right (laughing). But yeah, I mean, she was, what, 15 at the time? I thought she just handled herself really well, and I knew she was going to be back there.

Now to be playing her again after six years, I don't know if that makes me old, but yeah, just to be at this point of my life and to be playing her again is honestly, for me, feels kind of special.

Q. I just wanted to ask about your serve. You were gesturing a lot towards Tomasz in the box today. Is the motion the same? Have you made any changes to it with Tomasz?

NAOMI OSAKA: Honestly, no, I haven't made any changes. It was just I feel really bad, I was really staring at him a lot today. But no, we just have, like, keywords to focus on when I don't feel like I'm serving that well, so...

Q. Just wondered what the kind of overwhelming emotions were that you felt at the end and getting to this stage again, whether it's relief or pride that you've kept going after a lot of difficult results and setbacks?

NAOMI OSAKA: Honestly, it's not relief, which is kind of ironic. I think, like, my first feeling that I feel right now is I'm very tired. My second one is just that I'm very grateful to be here.

I think when I was younger, I kind of expected myself to win in a way. Doing press after winning a match was kind of, like, you know, a routine, but I think now I've kind of experienced so many tough losses that I'm just happy to be smiling at a press conference.

Q. There have been a few dramatic moments this week on court.

NAOMI OSAKA: For me or from --

Q. No, things have been good for you.

NAOMI OSAKA: Thank you.

Q. Like Medvedev, Ostapenko, Tsitsipas. From your perspective, what about this tournament, the city, brings out kind of the angst and the drama?

NAOMI OSAKA: Hey, don't blame New York. I don't know what the tea is with Tsitsipas, so I'm not going to say anything.

But I don't know. I feel like not calling everyone out name by name, but Medvedev's had a couple of moments here that are kind of iconic. I feel like the people here might enjoy a show, but I think people everywhere enjoy a show.

I don't know if it's just the part of the season where everyone is, like, tired and irritated or something. But yeah, I mean, for me I think New York brings out my best behavior, so I don't know what everyone else is doing.

Q. Everyone talks about the first meeting you had with Coco here in 2019, but you've also played her a bunch of times since then. Once a year roughly. Any of those other matches of yours stand out at different points of your career as you've had your own separate journeys?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, obviously playing her once here. I think I played her -- was I defending in Australia one year? Yeah, I played her there.

But, honestly, the one that I remember the most, I think it's because it's the most recent, was the one in Beijing, which I thought was, like, really unfortunate because I felt like I was playing well.

I'm honestly excited to play her now, because I feel healthy, and I just want to see what happens.

Q. A couple of minutes ago you used the word "special" when you were talking about this upcoming match. What for you is the most special aspect of this, and how much for you do you think back about who you were maybe six years ago when you played her and where you are now?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I don't know how old I was, but sometimes I think about me before I had my pregnancy break, and I kind of realize that I feel like my age was pretty young when I was doing some of the stuff that I was doing.

I feel like I have to give myself a lot of grace on that. I think overall -- I forgot your question. That's crazy. I'm sorry. Short recap.

Q. You used the word "special" for when you were thinking about, I guess, playing her, Coco, here six years ago and now sort of coming back to that matchup all these years later and maybe why you used the word "special."

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I'm sorry. I think it's more for me the journey getting back here. Then obviously we had, like, a really special moment here that a lot of people remember. For me, also, she's like the main star of the US Open. I didn't play on Ashe yet. So it's just a combination of all those things.

Then, also, after I had Shai, I came to the US Open to watch her play Muchova I think. It was a semifinal. I don't know. I just feel happy, because I feel like all of my hard work is amounting to something.

Q. You mentioned that in 2019 you thought she would be a special player when she was so young. How would you describe your observations of her journey from then until now?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I think everyone kind of already knew that about her, that she was going to be a really great tennis player.

For me I feel like everyone's journeys are so specific to them, and it's been a real pleasure to see how she's kind of navigated herself and been a role model to a lot of young people, even though she's a young person herself.

(Naomi's answers to questions in Japanese.)

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I think for me it's incredible to still see Venus on the court. I know that when people talk about her, they mention her age first, but I don't know, I feel like for me we should be appreciating so much that she's still playing and she's still giving inspiration to so many people. I watched her match against Muchova, and I thought that it was incredible how well she played and how well she moved.

So yeah, for me to see someone like her, it's like a legend. You know what I mean?

Yeah, so actually I wasn't nervous going into the match today, because I've played Daria so many -- well, not so many, but I've played her many times, and I know her game style. So I knew there wasn't going to be many surprises there, but I feel like when the second set started, I just overthought a lot and then obviously started having a little trouble with my serve. So that was frustrating, but I think I'm getting more and more used to, like, the matches here.

Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely a lot more confident in my defense. I think I've been working on my speed a lot with Giki [phonetic], and we've just been going hard with that. I'm confident that I'm able to get balls back, but I know I'm not a pure defensive player. I think it's useful to use when I need it.

Yeah, I mean, there's definitely been a lot that has happened since Shai was born. You know, to be back here in this round at this tournament is definitely something that's really special to me. I hope that I can keep going farther and farther in this tournament.

Then obviously, the Asian swing is next, and I'm really excited to play in Japan and China, because I missed the Japan part of the season last year. I think for me what I realize is no matter what, this year is definitely better than last year anyway, so I just have to keep being positive.