Naomi Osaka's return to relevancy didn't happen overnight

Naomi Osaka has reached her first major quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open, but her return to relevancy wasn't out of the blue. 

The Japanese star endured a long and arduous path back to the top over the last few years, which included entering Challenger tournaments and ATP 250 events she would have never played in during her prime years. 

After sitting out the entire 2023 season (maternity leave), she struggled to find her form last year, suffering first-round exits at the Australian Open and Abu Dhabi, and second-round losses at Brisbane, Madrid, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open. Through it all, the former World No. 1 kept her head high and a smile on her face, even though she wasn't accustomed to such underwhelming performances at events she once ruled. 

Osaka knew she needed to put in the reps to eventually challenge the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, and was unwavering in her dedication. 

This season, she began to turn the tide — slowly but surely. She started the year by reaching the final in Auckland, followed by a third-round appearance at the Australian Open and a quarterfinal finish in Miami. In April, she shocked the world by entering a Challenger tournament in Saint-Malo, France — the kind of event usually reserved for players ranked outside the top 100. Osaka — a four-time major winner — wasn't too proud to compete against lower-ranked opponents, as she won her first title since 2021. 

The decision paid dividends as Osaka reached the fourth round at the ensuing event in Rome and showed flashes of her old self by reaching the third round at Wimbledon. The icing on the cake came at Montreal, where she reached the final of a WTA 1000 event for the first time since the 2022 Miami Open. And now, at the U.S. Open, she's three wins away from winning her first major title in over four years.

Osaka didn't take shortcuts back to the top. Instead, she ground her way through irrelevance to reach her desired level. Make no mistake — she's still not the player who dominated the Tour between 2018 and 2021, but is considerably better than the one who struggled a year ago. There's no better proof of that than her win/loss record. Last year, she finished 22-18, marking her lowest win percentage since 2017. This year, she improved to 30-12 with the win over Gauff on Monday.