The former world No. 1 made a thunderous return to hard courts at the National Bank Open, easing past the No. 9 seed in straight sets on Wednesday.
Naomi Osaka enjoyed encouraging results on clay courts and grass, but the former world No. 1 has spent this summer counting down the days until the US Open swing.
“As soon as my foot touched the hard court, I felt like Sailor Moon,” Osaka said, referencing the eponymous anime superhero. “Just transforming.”
Osaka indeed made some Moon Tiara Magic in her first hard-court match since the Miami Open, stunning No. 9 seed Ons Jabeur, 6-3, 6-1 to advance into the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
“Everyone knows I really love hard courts,” she said on court after the match. “I don’t know, I wasn’t really thinking too much. It was very instinctual. Honestly, when I play the best players like Ons, I tend to play better, so I think that helped me out with it being the first round.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion has always played her best tennis on concrete, and has built her 2024 season—a maternity leave comeback after giving birth to daughter Shai last year—with an eye towards the US Open. Up against a former US Open finalist in Jabeur, Osaka penetrated the court with ruthless efficiency to post a 72-minute victory on Center Court.
Osaka was coming off a disappointing first-round defeat at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, but the 26-year-old had been rounding into form since earlier this spring when she reached the Internazionali BNL d’italia quarterfinals and pushed Iga Swiatek to within a point of defeat at Roland Garros.
Playing in Canada for the first time since 2022 the wild card was dealt another difficult draw in Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist but a player who has underperformed in 2024 due to injuries and inconsistency. The former world No. 2 was meant to kick off her US Open preparation at the Mubadala Citi DC Open last week but handed a walkover to American Robin Montgomery ahead of their first round.
Osaka and Jabeur played just once before at the 2021 Australian Open, where the former won in straight sets en route to the title. Though both have been through an eventful three-and-a-half year stretch, it was déjà vu on the outset for Osaka, who was finding her spots on serve early as she earned a 3-0 lead.
Jabeur soon got on the board and saved a set point down 5-2 with an ace, but Osaka was undaunted and served out the set in the very next game.
Striking the ball with authority from the back of the court, Osaka robbed Jabeur of the time she needs to employ her improvisational style and powered to a set and a break advantage early in the second set.
Osaka had Jabeur on the ropes again in the fifth game, jamming the Tunisian on the forehand side on her way to a double break lead. Jabeur gamely tried to hold on from the brink of defeat, outfoxing Osaka off a netcord return but Osaka proved too strong in the end, breaking for a fourth time to secure her spot in the second round.
Awaiting her there will be Belgian rival Elise Mertens, whom Osaka leads 4-2 in their head-to-head. Mertens defeated Osaka on hard courts at the BNP Paribas Open but Osaka got her revenge three months later on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
