Naomi Osaka’s US Open campaign has been nothing short of sensational, having stormed into the semi-final in emphatic fashion.
It has been a stark return to form for the former world number one, who finally started showing signs of her old self in Montreal.
It’s fair to say that she’s definitely recaptured that now with her performances in New York, and is now preparing for a blockbuster clash with Amanda Anisimova for a spot in the final.
Much of this turnaround can be attributed to the work of Tomasz Witkowski, her new coach, brought in after Wimbledon following yet another flat underperformance.
A player of her stature and ability should never have to suffer so many shock defeats to lesser opponents. Now, she seems to have rediscovered the ruthless quality that led her to four Grand Slam titles.
What Tomasz Witkowski did right before Naomi Osaka’s US Open win
Osaka has admitted to finding one thing about Witkowski ‘mind-blowing’ in the past, but even she likely could not have expected that her form would turn as quickly as it has.
From regularly losing early throughout 2025 to reaching back-to-back semi-finals at elite-level events, it’s so refreshing to see the 27-year-old back on top.
And Marion Bartoli, speaking yesterday just before Naomi Osaka consolidated her form with a routine win over Karolina Muchova, would provide an insight that perhaps explains this resurgence.
She told Sky Sports: “I was actually in the players’ lounge before the end of the match of Felix [Auger-Aliassime] against Alex [de Minaur] and Naomi’s new coach, [Tomasz] Witkowski, was just meticulously going through the routine and all the drills that should be done during warm-up, with the hitting partner.
“He was writing down every single detail, showing him the patterns, making drills as well, so. I think sort of preparation now to the match in terms of tactics, laying down things, more clearly for her is also helping a lot.”
Naomi Osaka’s road to the US Open semi-final
Osaka started her campaign in New York with a routine win over Greet Minnen, before tackling the tricky task of Hailey Baptiste well in the second round.
Then, by beating the 15th seed Daria Kasatkina next, she set up the mouth-watering fourth-round clash that everybody wanted.
And yet, in all honesty, it was a complete blowout.
Osaka brushed aside Coco Gauff with ease, and consolidated that huge victory by beating Muchova too.
She is yet to drop a set throughout the entire US Open, but Amanda Anisimova will certainly test that in their semi-final later tonight.
