Naomi Osaka elated with qualifying for the WTA Finals in Shenzhen

Naomi Osaka will be the fifth participant at this year’s WTA Finals. The two-time Grand Slam champion joins Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Bianca Andreescu, and Simona Halep as the players confirmed for the tournament so far. She will be making her second appearance at the tournament. Osaka got the news after reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open.

Naomi Osaka top results in 2019

The Japanese star won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. She reached the semifinals at the Brisbane International and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Osaka had disappointing showings at the French Open and Wimbledon, failing to get past the opening rounds in those tournaments. She reached the round of 16 at the US Open in September. The former world number one has bounced back in the last couple of weeks. She won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan and has advanced to the semi-finals of the China Open.

Naomi lost all 3 matches in Singapore

Osaka expressed her delight at qualifying for the finals in Shenzhen. “I am very proud to have qualified for the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen for a second year. There is an amazing atmosphere at this event and to compete on this stage, with the top players of the season, is an honor and a challenge that I’m really looking forward to.” In her debut at the tournament last year, the former world number one struggled. She lost her first two matches to Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber before retiring in her third match against Kiki Bertens due to a hamstring injury.

Osaka’s father coaching Naomi right now

This year’s WTA finals are in Shenzhen for the first time. The city will host the finals up to 2028. Singapore had previously hosted the tournament from 2014 to 2018. Osaka will hope to improve her showing at this year’s edition. Her father, Leonard Francois, is her current coach. She parted ways with her former coach Jermaine Jenkins last month. The world number four defeated the reigning US Open champion, Andreescu, in the quarterfinals of the China Open this week. She will face Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. The WTA Finals will run from October 27^th to November 3^rd. The tournament will feature a total of $14 million dollars in prize money. The winner of the Billie Jean King Trophy will win $4.75 million dollars if she manages to go through the tournament unbeaten. The amount would be the highest awarded to a tennis player in history.

Osaka in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2019

Ranked no.4, the Japanese has a 37-11 win-loss record in 2019. Naomi is in Beijing where she bested Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6⁵, Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-0, Alison Riske 6-4 6-0 and Bianca Vanessa Andreescu 5-7 6-3 6-4.

Osaka will come up against Wozniacki in the semifinal. The head to head is 2-0 for Wozniacki.

The last time that they fought against each other, Wozniacki won 6-2 7-6⁵ in the 2^nd round in Eastbourne in June 2017.

Osaka clinched 2 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open and in Osaka.

The Japanese won 4 titles in her career: 4 on hard courts. (See the list of her titles)