Japanese tennis star and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka recently shared a fitness update ahead of kicking off her 2026 season at the United Cup in Australia. Most of the early 2026 tournaments will be held in Australia as a lead-up to the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne. Osaka, however, says she is fit and ready for the challenge ahead.
Naomi Osaka Gives Fitness Update Ahead of the 2026 As She Gets Ready for the United Cup
Osaka took home a lot of positives from the 2025 season, which saw her win her first title in four years at Saint-Malo, reach the Canadian Open final before falling to Victoria Mboko, and make a strong run to the US Open semifinals in Flushing Meadows, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. Her performances lifted her back into the WTA top 20, finishing the year ranked world No. 16.
However, the Japanese star struggled to meet expectations during the Asian swing, suffering second-round exits at both the China Open and the Wuhan Open. She showed steady progress at her home event, the Japan Open, but a left thigh injury forced her to withdraw ahead of the quarterfinals, bringing her season to an early close.
With the new season approaching, Osaka offered a positive update on her fitness. Upon arriving in Perth for the 2026 United Cup, she spoke to the media, saying she felt she was doing well and would be able to provide a clearer assessment after playing her first few matches.
“I hope so. I guess I’ll let you know after my first few matches, but I think so. You know, I feel like every year I’m slowly getting stronger, so I hope next year I’m better too,” she said.
The four-time grand slam winner was also asked whether representing her country at the prestigious mixed-team event held special meaning for her. Osaka agreed and responded that she had never played in the tournament before, saying she would approach it in a similar way to the Billie Jean King Cup.
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“Yeah, I mean it definitely is. Obviously I have never played the United Cup before, but I think I’m going to try to treat it like a Billie Jean King Cup,” she said.
The 2026 United Cup will run from Jan. 2 to Jan. 11. Launched in 2023, the outdoor hard-court mixed-team tournament will be staged across two venues: RAC Arena in Perth and the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, featuring the Ken Rosewall Arena. A total of 18 nations will compete, divided into six groups of three, with the group phase played in a round-robin format. In each tie, teams will contest a men’s singles match, a women’s singles match, and a mixed doubles encounter.
