Naomi Osaka reaches US Open last 16 after thrilling three-set victory
Naomi Osaka is back in the thick of a Grand Slam fight, and on Saturday night in New York she reminded Louis Armstrong Stadium what that looks like.
Under the lights in Flushing Meadows, the 13th seed edged past 23rd seed Elise Mertens 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, clawing her way into the US Open round of 16 in a match that swung wildly before finally landing on her racket.
Fast start from a two-time champion
From the opening games, Osaka looked every bit the two-time US Open champion. Once she settled behind her serve, the tempo changed. She strung together three games in a row, jumped out to a 4–1 lead and never really let Mertens breathe in that first set.
The serve did the heavy lifting. Osaka hammered down a series of powerful deliveries, closed out her service games with authority and sealed the set 6–3 without facing a serious crisis. Under the Armstrong floodlights, it felt like a familiar script: Osaka dictating, Mertens chasing.
The match refused to stay on script.
Mertens fights back
Osaka came out for the second set still on the front foot. Attacking from the baseline, she broke Mertens in the third game and looked on course to tighten her grip on the match.
Then the errors crept in.
Mertens, steady and stubborn, pounced when Osaka’s level dipped. The Belgian broke straight back, then again, turning Osaka’s early advantage on its head. The rallies lengthened, Osaka’s timing wavered, and Mertens calmly dragged the contest into a deciding set, taking the second 6–3.
Momentum, once firmly in Osaka’s corner, now belonged to the 23rd seed.
A chaotic decider and a late surge
The final set turned into a test of nerve. Osaka’s groundstrokes fluctuated, and Mertens capitalized on a cluster of unforced errors to edge in front. The Japanese star, clearly unsettled, called for a medical timeout, a pause that seemed to reset the entire evening.
When play resumed, the mood shifted again. Osaka began to swing more freely, her feet lighter, her shots cleaner. The tension inside Louis Armstrong Stadium rose with every point.
Late in the set, with Mertens close to the finish line, Osaka struck. She broke back, wresting control at exactly the moment she needed it most. Serving at 5–5, she unleashed an ace to cap a crucial hold and move ahead 6–5, a roar from the crowd meeting the clean strike.
One game later, the contest was over. Osaka closed it out, 7–5 in the third, completing a win that felt as much about resilience as it did about shot-making.
Emotion, honesty, and what comes next
Speaking on court after the match, Osaka admitted her own surprise at the escape, saying she could hardly believe she had pulled it off. She thanked the New York crowd for their backing and, in a candid moment, apologized for her behaviour during the battle, including an episode where she threw her racket in frustration.
It was raw, imperfect, and gripping—exactly the kind of match that once defined her rise.
Into the fourth round now, Osaka will face either Elena Rybakina or Yulia Starodubtseva. The names are different, the draw has moved on, but under the New York lights, the sense is the same: Osaka is back in the second week, and the tournament will have to go through her again.
