Naomi Osaka’s magical US Open campaign is now over, with Amanda Anisimova having battled back from a set down to win in three.
It marked yet another strong showing from the WTA, which has thrown up a supremely competitive and exciting draw, laden with high-quality clashes.
This semi-final was no different, pitting two of the sport’s biggest hitters against one another on the biggest stage in tennis.
Naomi Osaka still cut an upbeat figure in her post-match press conference after her loss, clearly content with reaching the semi-finals, even if she came so close to taking that next step.
And now, she has set herself a new goal instantly after such a crushing loss.
Naomi Osaka sets herself a new goal after losing to Amanda Anisimova
Chatting with reporters, Osaka admitted she was proud of the progress made in recent months, after a year and a half of hardship.
She claimed: “I don’t, like even at my quote unquote worst, I’ve never played a tournament and thought that I would lose in the first round, you know, like if I enter a tournament, I want to win, so I would say like getting far in the US Open was definitely a confidence booster. Doing well in Montreal was a confidence booster, but the season’s not done yet.
“I honestly got a little farther than I thought I would. I just wanted to be seeded in slams, but now I don’t know what ranking I’m at, but I think I’m kind of getting up there, so, yeah, obviously I want to do well in Australia. I always happen to play well there.
Amanda Anisimova will now face Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open, in a rematch of their Wimbledon semi-final clash earlier this summer.
Elsewhere, Chris Evert sent a heartfelt message to Pegula, who also lost her semi-final.
Naomi Osaka’s new world ranking after US Open semi-final run
Osaka has always spoken about how her goal was recapturing consistency in order to gain safe entry into Grand Slams.
Once she achieved that, it was about being seeded.
Now, after reaching the semi-final of the US Open, just weeks after she made it to the final in Montreal as well, her long-term goal will likely have to change again.
After all, she has usurped all her previous ones and will now be ranked 14th in the world after this tournament.
Next up is surely to crack the top ten again, as she continues to hopefully make regular charges to win Grand Slam titles.
