Former Miami Open finalist Naomi Osaka fought back from a set and a break down against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in their first-round match. Osaka won 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 after 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Osaka, who was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in Miami in 2022, hadn`t won a match since January`s Australian Open. In that tournament, she reached the third round but had to retire due to an abdominal injury against Belinda Bencic. Recently, she lost in the first round of Indian Wells to Camila Osorio, a match she described as the `worst of my career`.
It has been a tough period for Osaka. She reached the final in Auckland at the start of the year and felt she was in good form before the abdominal injury disrupted her momentum. This setback added to her nervousness during the Sunshine Double events this year.
`I really want to compete with the top players, and I see everyone playing so well, which motivates me,` she told reporters. `But I need to remember that improvement is a gradual process.`
Osaka showed she had learned from her defeat to Osorio as she played Starodubtseva for the first time.
`I knew my level wasn`t great, but I decided to stay in the match as long as possible, because Miami feels like home to me,` Osaka said in her post-match interview. `In Indian Wells, I was trying to hit the ball too hard, so this time I focused on using my legs. I was ready to run to every corner and play for three hours if that`s what it took to win.`
Starodubtseva, ranked No. 108, has also had a difficult season, winning only one of her nine matches in 2025 before Miami. However, the 25-year-old found her form in the Miami qualifiers, defeating Varvara Lepchenko and Tatjana Maria. She pushed Osaka to her limit, taking a 5-0 lead and then going up 6-3, 4-2.
Osaka didn`t need a full three hours, but she demonstrated great determination. This win improves her record in three-set matches this year to 4-0. Her next opponent is No. 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova, against whom she has a 1-1 record. Samsonova won their last match in Indian Wells, but Osaka won their previous encounter in Madrid.
Turning point: Starodubtseva played almost perfectly for the first set and a half. She effectively handled Osaka`s power, returning shots with excellent depth, and used slices and precise shots to create winning opportunities. Despite some nerves while closing out the first set, Starodubtseva saved three break points early in the second set and broke Osaka for a 4-2 lead with a strong forehand.
Leading 4-2 in the second set, Starodubtseva had two opportunities to extend her lead to 5-3. However, she made errors on both points, including a forehand that went long, allowing Osaka to break back. Osaka then served a love game to go ahead 5-4. Starodubtseva couldn`t recover, losing the set in the following game after netting a volley and sending a backhand long.
Osaka`s first serve percentage was only 47% in the first set, and she won just 57% of those points. However, her serve improved throughout the match, and she was almost perfect in the final set. She increased her first serve percentage to 58% and lost only three points on her first serve. She faced two break points in the fifth game of the final set, but saved both.
Osaka`s initial struggles in the first set began with consecutive double faults in the second game, leading to a break. However, she finished the match with 10 aces, including two service winners to close out the victory.
Rupert Caldwell