Naomi Osaka of Japan in action during the 2025 US Open.
Get set for more Naomi Osaka fever in Auckland this summer.
After being a huge hit this year, the celebrated Japanese star will return to the ASB Classic in 2026. Back in January it felt like the former world No 1 was one of the most popular players to grace the event, a star turn on and off the court.
She was confirmed as the marquee women’s signing on Wednesday, after a season when the 28-year-old has rediscovered her best form, since coming back to the sport in 2024 after the birth of her daughter Shai.
After being No 57 at the start of this year, the four-time grand slam champion has risen to No 14 with some impressive results, highlighted by her semifinal run at Flushing Meadows.
The recent American swing seemed like a turning point for Osaka.
In Montreal she beat four seeds on the way to the Rogers Cup final - including Jelena Ostapenko and Elina Svitolina – before being edged by rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko in three sets.
Then came her brilliant New York campaign – where she topped three higher ranked players, including world No 3 Coco Gauff – before losing a tight semifinal to Amanda Anisimova in three sets.
“She was playing probably some of the best tennis,” ASB Classic tournament director Nicholas Lamperin told the Herald.
“She lost a really close match in the semis, but it could have gone either way.
“What’s great for tennis and great for us is that I truly believe that she’s back to a top level. You could say with confidence that she’ll be back in the top 10 at some point next year.”
Osaka came to Auckland off the back of a mixed 2024 season, where she took time to get used to the tour again, after being off the circuit since October 2022.
But she banked confidence at the ASB Classic, with a serene run to the final against Dane Clara Tauson, before being forced to retire with an abdominal strain, which later curtailed her Melbourne campaign.
“Having a strong start in Auckland [in 2026] would be important in building the year and heading into the Australian Open,” said Osaka.
“Last year I did pretty well in Auckland and although I had to retire in the final, it definitely gave me a lot of confidence going into Melbourne.
“The biggest lessons I will carry into next year are coming off a really strong US swing and doing well in the US Open, but the whole year has been full of really great lessons.”
Osaka was always going to take time to find her groove again, especially as her game relies on power, shot making and pure aggression.
Her clay and grass season were solid – though far from spectacular – with a fourth round appearance in Rome and a run to the third round at Wimbledon. That was before she caught fire in North America, with the offer from Auckland thankfully already on the table at that stage.
“The first few months were probably not what she was expecting,” observed Lamperin. “She won a few matches but she was missing on some of the bigger ones. Then there’s been a real turnaround in the season when she decided to change coaches.
“She played Washington, had a bad [second round] loss against Emma Raducanu then she got a new coach (Tomasz Wiktorowski). Initially it was just going to be a one-week trial and then she went all the way to the final in Canada and that form continues.”
Wiktorowski was behind the rise of compatriot Iga Swiatek – who claimed three major titles during his tenure – and also had a long spell as coach of former world No 2 and Auckland champion Agnieszka Radwańska.
For Lamperin, Osaka’s reasons for returning, when any tournament in week one or two would love to have her, are three-fold.
Firstly, she has good memories of the 2025 edition, with her success on the courts. Secondly, she enjoyed herself in the city, packing in a lot of activities around the isthmus.
Thirdly, choosing to start the year at an WTA 250 – instead of a more lucrative WTA 500 – increases the chance of more match play, before the Australian Open.
Osaka first played in Auckland in 2017 as a teenager.
Then just inside the top 50, she reached the quarterfinals before withdrawing with an injury early in the first set. That season was highlighted by a couple of big top 10 wins (over Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams) before the magic began the following year, with her title at Indian Wells followed by the epic US Open triumph, where she beat Serena Williams in the final.
There’s been some fabulous highs and some tough lows since then but the second career chapter will continue here, where Osaka already has some plans away from tennis.
“The thing I enjoyed most about Auckland was probably the scariest thing, and I would want to do it again next year, which was jumping off the Sky Tower,” said Osaka.
Lamperin is promising some more big names over the next month, as both the women’s and men’s field begins to take shape.
“We have some offers out there and we are pretty confident,” said Lamperin.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.