Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia pack a punch on the tennis court, overpowering opponents when on song.
They have both featured at the top of the game, with Osaka landing two Australian Open titles to comprise half of her Grand Slam haul, while Garcia formerly resided inside the top five in the rankings. While currently unseeded and outside the top 50, they no doubt merited a spot at Rod Laver Arena in Monday’s night session.
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Away from the court, similarities arise, too.
They have both taken breaks from the game for their mental health, and drew closer after Osaka appeared on Garcia’s podcast last year.
Osaka couldn’t quite believe that they were drawn to face one another in the first round at Melbourne Park for a second successive year, but this time the 27-year-old from Japan prevailed, 6-3 3-6 6-3.
“I’m just really grateful to play at Rod Laver again,” Osaka said in her on-court interview.
“I was a bit shocked when I saw the schedule. A really big honour for me.”
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A resident of Los Angeles, hit hard by wildfires in the past week, Osaka revealed her home wasn’t out of harm’s way.
“I was watching the fire map and the fire is three blocks from my house,” said Osaka. “So, I had someone go and get my daughter’s birth certificate because I didn’t know what would happen if that burned down. Sending all my love to LA.”
Last year when the pair when they duelled at night at the same court in the same round, Osaka only just began her comeback after becoming a mum to daughter Shai in 2023. She held a ranking of No.831 to the Frenchwoman’s 19, and Garcia crunched 13 aces while not facing a break point in the 6-4 7-6(2) win.
Two further meetings ensued in 2024, resulting in a 1-1 split. Big serving – both tallied double digits in aces in Miami last March – featured plenty.
Osaka was the one more battle-hardened to commence 2025. She made the final of the ASB Classic over a week ago, retiring when up by a set against Clara Tauson – yes, another hard hitter – due to an abdominal issue.
Garcia, meanwhile, hadn’t played since September, opting to take a break and also rest an ailing shoulder.
On the eve of Australian Open 2025, Osaka said the injury had improved and her display in front of coach Patrick Mouratoglou – who witnessed former charge Serena Williams thriving at Melbourne Park – backed up her claim. Osaka, however, admitted she didn’t hit many serves leading up to the match.
Despite the end result, Garcia benefited from the first slender opening while leading 2-1, but Osaka resisted from 15-30 to draw level, then pounced to take control.
She won 16 of the last 20 points of the set, breaking at love for an emphatic exclamation mark.
A little luck tweaked the momentum.
A Garcia net-cord winner with Osaka holding a 40-15 advantage may have unsettled the latter, who immediately double faulted and then dropped serve.
Garcia appeared to be enjoying herself, smiling after authoring a backhand slice cross court – finesse also features in her game – to thwart a break point and get to 2-0. Later in the set, she moved in the other direction to execute a jaw-dropping forehand slice cross court winner.
While Garcia’s errors escalated in Osaka’s service games, a forehand return down the line sealed the second in her favour.
“Every point,” Osaka appeared to say to herself in the third. She escaped a 15-30 deficit at 0-1 and like in the first set, immediately broke for 2-1.
As the slugging ensued, Osaka lasered a forehand while down break point to open up a two-game cushion and saved three more deeper into the set.
Her cries of “come on” matched the number of break points averted.
In a contest of fine margins – they were almost identical in the winners to unforced errors ratio – break points saved and converted proved the difference.
Since returning to the game 12 months ago, Osaka has encountered the formidable quartet of Garcia, Iga Swiatek at her stronghold of Roland Garros, a seeded and surging Emma Navarro at Wimbledon and Karolina Muchova all within the first two rounds at majors.
Such are the possibilities when unseeded.
Indeed, another talented and familiar foe awaits Osaka in the second round – Muchova.