Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka is through to the third round of the 2025 Canadian Open, keeping her hopes alive with a dramatic comeback win over Liudmila Samsonova. Osaka later made her feelings clear about the brave effort that carried her further in the tournament.
Naomi Osaka Reflects on Her Thrilling Win Over Liudmila Samsonova at the Canadian Open
Tennis comebacks often push players to their physical and emotional limits. For Osaka, rebuilding was the only option as she took on 13th seed Samsonova in a match that tested both players’ mental strength.
Osaka trailed for most of her second-round clash against the Russian. She dropped the opening set 4-6, found herself 5-3 down in the second. However, the former World No. 1 dug deep to stay alive, saving two match points on Samsonova’s serve before finally breaking through with her first break of the match, which was also helped by her opponent’s tense double fault.
Osaka was even behind 5-2 in the tiebreak. But exuding remarkable grit, the four-time Major champion clawed her way back to take the set 7-6(6), before asserting control in the decider with a 6-3 win, sealing the match in two hours and 37 minutes.
With this win, Osaka edged ahead 3-2 in her head-to-head record against Samsonova, having claimed all three of their hard-court encounters, including Indian Wells 2024 and Miami 2025. Samsonova’s two victories came on clay in Madrid 2024 and on grass in Berlin 2025.
The Japanese star appeared satisfied with her hard-fought victory as her efforts ultimately paid off. She later took to Instagram to share her reaction to the comeback win.
“Down 2 match points on return is lowkey kinda crazy 🫨,” she captioned her post.
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Notably, this marked Osaka’s first match with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski in her player box. The Japanese star had recently parted ways with renowned French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, ending their 10-month partnership.
MORE: Naomi Osaka vs. Jelena Ostapenko Preview: Head-to-Head and Prediction for Canadian Open 2025
Serena Williams’ Former Coach Also Made His Feelings Known on Osaka’s Comeback Triumph
Osaka’s resilience drew high praise from 23-time Major champion Serena Williams’ former coach Rick Macci, who noted that even a single pivotal point or moment can ignite a player’s motivation.
“Confidence is a fleeting thing. Little things make the biggest difference. One word one point one moment can trigger more desire light a new fire that can inspire change that wire and lift you higher. @naomiosaka,” he wrote on X.
Confidence is a fleeting thing. Little things make the biggest difference. One word one point one moment can trigger more desire light a new fire that can inspire change that wire and lift you higher. @naomiosaka
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) July 31, 2025
Osaka now awaits the 23rd seed Jeļena Ostapenko, making it a promising third-round battle of the former Grand Slam champions. The Latvian defeated Renata Zarazúa 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the third round of the WTA 1000 events. The winner of this match would face either Anastasija Sevastova or the two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula.
