Naomi Osaka’s relief and happiness were evident on Wednesday.

Osaka stormed back for her biggest victory since returning from maternity leave just over a year ago after stunningly losing the opening set to No. 20 seed Karolina Muchova.

Osaka advanced to her first major Round of 32 in three years after securing the unlikely victory, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, on her third match point in front of an enthusiastic audience at Kia Arena. She grinned and waved her hands while jumping up and down. She then closed her eyes and covered her heart with her hand.

The four-time major champion, who has won two at the Australian Open, was overcome with emotion not only by the win or the ticket to the third round, but also by the way she performed and the opponent she faced. Osaka upset formidable opponents who had beaten her in Grand Slams in 2024 in three sets in both of her matches in Melbourne, including her first-round matchup with former world No. 4 Caroline Garcia.

The triumphs demonstrate her progress since her homecoming and serve as a reminder of her potential.

“It means a lot,” Osaka’s on-court interviewee said. “Muchova is a really challenging opponent for me to play against. When I had my finest costume ever at the US Open, she smashed me. I was really let down. I was quite angry.

“Happy that I got my retribution. Because revenge is competitive, it’s not a terrible thing. One of the most formidable opponents is her.

Since her return, Osaka’s path has been quite the roller coaster, even during the first three weeks of the 2025 season.

Some questioned if Osaka would ever play competitive tennis again after she revealed she was pregnant before the 2023 Australian Open. She has freely discussed the devastating toll that success and celebrity had on her, as well as difficulties with her mental health. Her future appeared to be largely undetermined, and she had already taken several vacations from the sport.

On the other hand, Osaka promised to return throughout her absence, showing up as a spectator at the 2023 US Open and sharing training videos that autumn. But even though she displayed glimmers of her former championship form, her 2024 return season was difficult. She never made it past the second round at any major, losing to Garcia in the opening round of the Australian Open. Throughout the year, she only made it to two WTA quarterfinals.

However, there is already more potential this year. Osaka started working with Patrick Mouratoglou, the former longtime coach of renowned tennis player Serena Williams, after splitting from coach Wim Fissette in September. After preparing in Los Angeles throughout the off-season, Osaka made it to her first final in almost three years in Auckland to start the new year.

However, she had to quit due to an abdominal injury after defeating Clara Tauson in the first set of the championship match. Her Australian Open status was instantly called into question as the tears streamed.

Soon after, Osaka had an MRI, which “wasn’t fantastic,” but he still wanted to try to play. In the opening match of her revenge tour against Garcia, she had no symptoms of discomfort and won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, with more than a week to recuperate before the Australian Open began.

In addition, she has had a difficult time off the court. Her separation from her partner Cordae, the rapper and father of her daughter, was made public last week. She also recently disclosed the proximity of the wildfires to her Los Angeles home.

Osaka stated, “I was looking at the fire map, and the fire is about three blocks away from my house,” following her victory in the first round. “So I had someone go and get my daughter’s birth certificate and all that because I didn’t know what would happen if that burned down.”

It appeared as though she would be losing the match in the opening set against Muchova on Wednesday. She really didn’t know how to respond to Muchova’s incredible athleticism and versatility. Within 20 minutes, Osaka was down 5-0, and the set came more than ten minutes later. Osaka claimed that she made every effort to maintain her composure during the match, even if the score was overwhelming.

Osaka subsequently told reporters, sporting a Lakers jersey and a Dodgers hat, “I wasn’t really prepared for it, but I just [wanted to] be aware and try not to get so negative on [myself].” “I think for me, the score in the first set was very dramatic, but there [were] key points that I could have maybe won a game here or there, so I kept trying to tell myself that and yeah, just try not to live in the past.”

Her plan did the trick. In the second set, Muchova was overpowered by Osaka’s strength and had to scramble to understand her game.

Osaka’s once-unwavering confidence was erratic during her first season back, and she frequently faltered in the most crucial moments of the match, as demonstrated by her 2024 French Open matchup with Iga Swiatek. On Wednesday, however, there was no indication of uncertainty. Osaka broke her in the fifth game and was in complete control after that, even though Muchova improved in the final set.

Osaka subsequently remarked, “I did believe in myself the entire time,”

She did not worry that her game “would slip away” and attributed her mental and physical preparation to her time in Auckland.

The 2020 Olympic gold medallist and previous US Open semifinalist Belinda Bencic, who returned from delivery earlier last month, will present Osaka, 27, with yet another difficult test on Friday. Although Bencic, who has a 3-2 head-to-head record against Osaka, acknowledged that their past performance was not very significant at this point, she expressed excitement for the chance and looked forward to a “fun match.”

When training for the match, Osaka claimed that Bencic was “an incredibly tough player” who wasn’t preoccupied with their shared status as mothers.

When she told reporters, “It probably adds extra stuff for you guys,” For me, not necessarily… You simply imagine yourself as a tennis player when you step onto the court.

A thrilling matchup with No. 3 seed and 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff in the fourth round might result from Osaka’s victory.

On Wednesday night, Osaka wasn’t considering Gauff or anything else. She claimed that after such a taxing battle, she could hardly think about Bencic. She acknowledged that beating a seeded player and making it to the third round for the first time since 2022 had been goals going into the season, but she wasn’t trying to focus too much on any of those things. She claimed that all she wanted to do now was play and would stop at nothing to keep winning.

“I’ve kind of made peace with it, to get me off this court, you’re going to wheel me off in an ambulance,” Osaka smiled as she concluded her news conference. “I won my match today, of course. I’m serving and doing well. So, yes, I am somewhat thrilled about it.