Last night marked a fine battle between Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka, in a clash more than worthy of its place on the night session.
And, whilst the world number one emerged victorious, Osaka still departed Philippe Chatrier with plenty of credit in the bank.
Few expected her to beat the Belarusian, but it was still impressive to see her go toe-to-toe with her, despite clay being far from Osaka’s favoured surface.
It was this fine run at Roland Garros which led Sam Querrey to make a prediction about the Japanese superstar, whilst speaking to TNT Sports.
Sam Querrey makes Naomi Osaka prediction after watching her lose to Aryna Sabalenka
Speaking before last night’s heavyweight showdown had even begun, the American pundit claimed: “Look, she’s back up into the top 20 in the world, right? It’s been a slow and steady climb, and semi-finals of the US Open last year.
“She’s not at the level yet of Aryna Sabalenka and Rybakina, but she’s slowly starting to chip away; her game’s improving, the confidence is coming back, and if she keeps up on this upward momentum, maybe a year from now, she can get herself a little closer in that conversation with some of those top women.”
Who is Aryna Sabalenka’s biggest threat for the Roland Garros title now?
This led John Isner to echo that sentiment, adding: “Yeah, and she’s gotten her ranking up. When she was making her comeback, it was tough for her. It seemed like, especially in these big tournaments, she was always running into the top seeds, either very early, either first or second round.
“Well now she’s not in that position; she can meet them in the third round, in this case, the fourth round. Yes, she’s up against the number one seed, but it’s great seeing her deep into these Grand Slams, which, of course, prior to that layoff, we were accustomed to seeing her in those.”
Osaka assessed Sabalenka’s performance in her post-match interview, whilst also discussing the gulf between them and how she plans to bridge that gap.
Naomi Osaka’s massive rankings rise from 2025 to 2026
Currently sat 15th in the live rankings, it has been yet another solid performance for Naomi Osaka at the Grand Slam level.
In fact, this actually represented her best-ever run at Roland Garros.
Do you like Naomi Osaka’s desire to create new outfits at Grand Slams or is it a distraction? 👀
It’s a testament to all the hard work she has put in across the past few years, battling through some really tough moments to reaffirm her position as one of the world’s best players.
However, she is not finished yet, and her trajectory is only pointing upwards.
After all, around this time last year, she sat just outside the world’s top 50.
Having endured a topsy-turvy 2025 season, Osaka managed to enjoy a fantastic summer, boosting her ranking massively.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
| Ranking in January | 51 | 16 |
| Ranking in February | 42 | 14 |
| Ranking in March | 61 | 16 |
| Ranking in April | 56 | 16 |
| Ranking in May | 48 | 15 |
| Ranking in June | 52 | 15 |
Reaching the final in Canada, before making it to the semi-finals of the US Open, helped propel her from relative ranking obscurity to 14th in the world.
This is roughly where she has settled since then, and with little to no points to defend during the grass-court season, the opportunity for further growth is there.
