Naomi Osaka's epic comeback continues, reaches first WTA 1000 final since 2022 at Canadian Open

Naomi Osaka is once again rolling as she has finally found the consistency that she has so craved over the past year and a half as she took down Clara Tauson 6-2, 7-6(7) to make her first final since January and her first on the WTA 1000 calendar since 2022.

Wednesday night at the Canadian Open, she outfought and outfoxed Tauson with her only wobbles coming in the second set where she had played an immaculate set and three quarters and with the finishing line in sight she slightly faltered. She was 6-2, 4-2 up serving for 5-2 but a few errors on game points saw Tauson make her way back into contention and the Dane forced her way into a tie-break.

She was a point away from being eliminated earlier in the tournament and now she also favoured good fortune for once for a player so blighted by injury issues in the past year suddenly when she is about to win big games. But in football, there is a new manager bounce and in tennis, it is a new coach bounce as Tomasz Wiktorowski who previously coached Iga Swiatek to a lot of her success has come in on trial this week.

“I think with personality, I was a little nervous because he seems a little stern but he’s actually kind of funny. He’ll randomly say a joke that I wasn’t expecting or something like that. I like him a lot," she said earlier this week.

Mboko awaits

No doubt he will be kept on after this run as Osaka has got what she was searching for with Wim Fissette and Patrick Mouratoglou, two supposed super coaches in the world of tennis but were unable to hoist Osaka back to her best. She was a point away from being forced into a third set on Wednesday night against Tauson. But whether good fortune or it falling apart for Tauson, she missed the line by inches and double faulted allowing Osaka back into the contest when it looked like we were going the distance.

Osaka heralded a forehand return to earn a second match point and Tauson smashed a second serve return into the net gifting Osaka the win. The victory sets up a superb final with Victoria Mboko. The Canadian prodigy somewhat has taken the spotlight off Osaka this week with the 18-year-old producing what has been expected of her since her ITF breakout. But it is a final of two players who have been chasing for some time and finally have their rewards.

How Osaka deals with the crowd remains to be seen who were in vociferous voice for their charge Mboko waving Allez Vicky signs and the wild crowd got right behind her as she toppled the usual stoic Ice Queen, Elena Rybakina who seemed post match to be rattled by the crowd. She had every right to be given she lost from a set down and missed a match point en route before spurning the deciding set tie-break. It is a first tour level final for Mboko who started her year standing out on the ITF tour. She broke out at Miami and has been making strides ever since but she now has to face Osaka.

A player certainly with a point to prove and one aiming to feed herself on the top table again. In time Mboko will hope to join that and open herself up to the same riches that Mirra Andreeva and before them Coco Gauff have got as teen prodigies. A big final awaits and one to savour to start the US Open series.

But also Mboko supposedly called Osaka her idol. A fact that Osaka called cute. It will be all business though very soon. “I don't think that's ever happened. I'm shook (laughing). No, I mean, it's really cute. I guess I have to have a really good attitude tomorrow. I can't let her not like me anymore. I don't know, it's funny because I was, like, I see her on the TV, and I was low-key, like, That's my little twin, because we both have our blue dresses and our buns and everything. Yeah, I mean, I'm really honored. I always said that I would love to play someone that looked up to me in a way, so it's happening way sooner than I thought it would," she said.

Match Statistics Osaka vs. Tauson