Two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka was defeated by Danielle Collins in the first round of this year’s U.S. Open on Tuesday night. Collins, a finalist in the 2022 Australian Open and seeded No. 19, defeated Osaka 7-6 (6), 6-3 at Flushing Meadows Park and will face Cristina Bucsa of Spain in the next round.
Predictions favored Osaka prior to the match. Both players have had a rough season, however, with Collins taking time off due to injuries and Osaka’s losses in Cincinnati and the Canadian Open.
The two had faced off three times before meeting in the first round of the U.S. Open: at the China Open, Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open. Osaka won all three times.
“When you lose to someone three times you get a lot of information on what you can do better,” Collins told WTA Tennis. “With Naomi being the player that she is, she definitely whooped me the last time. I just had to learn from that and make adjustments and I think I did that.”
Despite Osaka’s 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the match, Collins was able to level the score with a rapid response.
“I got lucky in some big moments,” Collins said. “But I was working really hard for the points. She wasn’t giving me a ton of free ones. Really, overall, l I think it was a solid match, high level of tennis from both of us.”
Both players traded a marginal lead over the other until a desperate lob from Collins would barely land inside the court. Osaka, now shocked, lost the first and then second set to Collins and exit the tournament.
“I’m the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Sometimes when I play matches, I have to tell myself to stop thinking, just go more on instinct,” Osaka said in her postmatch press conference. “I feel like I just have to chill a little bit, because there’s a lot of like random chaos in my head right now.”
Osaka told WTA Tennis that she had been nervous going into the U.S. Open, as she was unseeded and ranked No. 44. Her losses in prior tournaments only added to the blow of losing in New York, as the four-time Grand Slam champion had won twice there — once in 2018 and again in 2021.
Despite the loss, however, both Osaka and Collins played a strong match. WTA Tennis reported that Osaka won 80% of her first serve points and landed 67% of her returns, while Collins finished with 23 winners to 24 unforced errors.