Naomi Osaka wins the way a boxer does, on the first punch. The serve is one of the biggest in the women's game and the groundstrokes are flat and heavy, so points end early. Born to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, raised in the United States, she announced herself at 20 by beating Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final, Japan's first Grand Slam singles champion. She reached world No. 1 in January 2019, the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles.
All 4 of her Grand Slam titles came on hard courts, two US Opens and two Australian Opens, the same first-strike tennis that troubled Karolina Pliskova and Angelique Kerber. The other story is quieter. She withdrew from the 2021 French Open and spoke openly about depression, becoming one of sport's most visible voices on mental health, then came back after the birth of her daughter in 2023. The power is still there. The question is how far it carries a returning champion.
Seven. That is where Linda Noskova sits in the WTA rankings this week, five places higher than a week ago, and the reason is a Wimbledon title. She beat Karolina Muchova in the final, and the two of them now sit side by side in the top 10, where last week there was one Czech.
Ranking taleTwelve. That is the tiebreak score that sent Karolína Muchová into her first Wimbledon final, saving a match point along the way and beating Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10). She will play Linda Nosková, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Marta Kostyuk in the other semi-final, for the title on Saturday. Both finalists are Czech, so whoever wins, the Wimbledon women's trophy is going home with a Czech name on it.
Wimbledon notebook