Naomi Osaka is in the midst of a great run at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and her reward is set to be her best ranking since returning to tennis as a mother at the start of 2024.
The Japanese, who came to Montreal ranked at No. 49 in the world, has registered four wins in Canada so far and reached her first Canadian Open quarterfinal since 2019. By doing so, the former world No. 1 also made her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the year.
Since it's a tournament from the 1000-level category, a deep run brings some nice points. And in live rankings, Osaka has already gained 15 spots and she is guaranteed to be ranked at least No. 34 when the list gets updated. Since coming back to tennis 20 months ago, the Japanese hasn't been ranked higher than No. 42 in the world. But now, that is set to change.
Osaka credits herself but also her new coach for her Montreal success
After firing Patrick Mouratoglou and instantly hiring Iga Swiatek's ex-coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, Osaka has been enjoying one of her best runs of the season in Montreal.
"Honestly, I think for me what's working well is I am very confident in my fitness. I'm really comfortable just getting balls back now, and I really enjoy Tomasz. I don't know if to say his name is 'Thomas' or 'Tomasz.' I'm so sorry. But I enjoy his coaching style. He's very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it's very helpful," the Japanese said.
For a place in the Montreal semifinal, Osaka is set to battle against Elina Svitolina, who defeated Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova. If the Japanese beats the Ukrainian, she should have enough points to secure returning to the top-30.
Osaka and Svitolina have played against each other seven times so far and the Japanese former world No. 1 leads their head-to-head narrowly 4-3.
