Naomi Osaka decided to take a prolonged break after conquering the Australian Open in February with the aim of coming back and win the Miami Open. The world no.2 will have some formidable opponents on her way, such as Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty. The American won the event 8 times while Barty is the defending champion.
Osaka’s performance and record at the Miami Open
Naomi has a disappointing record at the Miami Open so far. The Japanese has never managed to go beyond the 3rd and she has a below-par 5-4 win/loss in Florida. However, Osaka won one of the most important matches in her career when she defeated Serena Williams for the first time of her career in the opening match in 2018.
This year the field at the Miami Open on the WTA side is pretty rich and therefore Naomi needs to play at her very best if she wants to win this event.
This is the current entry list:
Main Draw Singles
1 Barty, Ashleigh (AUS)
2 Osaka, Naomi (JPN)
3 Halep, Simona (ROU)
4 Kenin, Sofia (USA)
5 Svitolina, Elina (UKR)
6 Pliskova, Karolina (CZE)
7 Williams, Serena (USA)
8 Sabalenka, Aryna (BLR)
9 Andreescu, Bianca (CAN)
10 Kvitova, Petra (CZE)
11 Bertens, Kiki (NED)
12 Bencic, Belinda (SUI)
13 Brady, Jennifer (USA)
14 Azarenka, Victoria (BLR)
15 Muguruza, Garbiñe (ESP)
16 Konta, Johanna (GBR)
17 Mertens, Elise (BEL)
18 Swiatek, Iga (POL)
19 Keys, Madison (USA)
20 Vondrousova, Marketa (CZE)
21 Martic, Petra (CRO)
22 Muchova, Karolina (CZE) – OUT
23 Rybakina, Elena (KAZ)
24 Kontaveit, Anett (EST)
25 Sakkari, Maria (GRE)
26 Kerber, Angelique (GER)
27 Riske, Alison (USA)
28 Putintseva, Yulia (KAZ)
29 Vekic, Donna (CRO) – OUT
31 Jabeur, Ons (TUN)
32 Anisimova, Amanda (USA)
33 Alexandrova, Ekaterina (RUS)
34 Kudermetova, Veronika (RUS)
35 Wang, Qiang (CHN)
36 Zhang, Shuai (CHN)
37 Collins, Danielle (USA)
38 Kuznetsova, Svetlana (RUS)
39 Strycova, Barbora (CZE) – OUT
40 Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia (RUS)
41 Stephens, Sloane (USA)
42 Linette, Magda (POL)
43 Pegula, Jessica (USA)
44 Podoroska, Nadia (ARG)
45 Ferro, Fiona (FRA)
46 Garcia, Caroline (FRA)
47 Zheng, Saisai (CHN)
47 Shvedova, Yaroslava (KAZ) SR
48 Bouzkova, Marie (CZE)
49 Ostapenko, Jelena (LAT)
50 Hsieh, Su-Wei (TPE) – OUT
51 Mladenovic, Kristina (FRA)
52 Gauff, Cori (USA)
53 Rogers, Shelby (USA)
54 Siegemund, Laura (GER)
55 Hercog, Polona (SLO) – OUT
56 Sevastova, Anastasija (LAT)
57 Kasatkina, Daria (RUS)
58 Cornet, Alizé (FRA)
59 Peterson, Rebecca (SWE)
60 Tig, Patricia Maria (ROU) – OUT
61 Teichmann, Jil (SUI)
62 Kanepi, Kaia (EST)
63 Krejcikova, Barbora (CZE)
64 Watson, Heather (GBR)
65 Pera, Bernarda (USA)
67 Cirstea, Sorana (ROU)
68 Siniakova, Katerina (CZE)
69 Blinkova, Anna (RUS)
70 Sorribes Tormo, Sara (ESP)
71 Li, Ann (USA)
72 Begu, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
73 Badosa, Paula (ESP)
74 Tomljanovic, Ajla (AUS)
75 Pliskova, Kristyna (CZE)
76 Williams, Venus (USA)
77 Hibino, Nao (JPN)
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked no.2, Osaka played her last match on the 20th of February when she beat Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win her 7th career title.
This season Naomi has achieved an overall 10-0 record. The Japanese conquered 1 title at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams in 2021
Currently ranked no.7, Serena played her last match on the 18th of February when she lost to Naomi Osaka 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season the American owns an overall 8-1 match record. Serena Williams’s best performance of the current season was reaching the semifinal in Melbourne and at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams clashed against each other 4 times. Their current head to head is 3-1 for Osaka. The last time they fought against each other, Naomi Osaka won 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 18th of February 2021.
Here the highlights.
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
At the moment ranked no.1, Barty played her last match on the 24th of February when she capitulated to Danielle Collins 6-3 6-4 in the 2nd round in Adelaide (draw).
This season Ashleigh has a 8-2 win-loss record. Ashleigh has won 1 title in Melbourne.
