Naomi Osaka will have to go through an anxious wait ahead of the 2024 US Open, as she didn’t directly qualify for the tournament.
The Japanese player returned to the sport only recently, months after giving birth to her daughter, Shai. So far, in 2024, the former World No. 1 has played the most matches she has played since 2019, completing 29 matches on the WTA Tour with 16 wins and 13 losses.
Although she lost the most matches since her breakthrough in 2018, it must be said that previously, Osaka didn’t play the complete schedule, resulting in very small number of matches, and therefore, also losses.
This year, however, she wants to play a lot, but her intentions may be interrupted by the entry list for the 2024 US Open. A few weeks ago, Osaka said that she misses a bit of luck on her comeback journey, as she often draws some of the top players in early rounds.
This was true at the 2024 French Open, where she had to play four-time champion Iga Swiatek already in the second round, but the 26-year-old showed her qualities and even had match points, but still lost to the Polish player in three sets.
Earlier in her comeback journey, the Japanese player drew former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round in Brisbane, Caroline Garcia in the first round at the Australian Open, and Danielle Collins in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open.
Later, she also had to play against Qinwen Zheng in her first match in Berlin and against Emma Navarro in her second-round Wimbledon match.
Despite relative success during her comeback season, all these brutal draws mean that she’s yet to make a really deep run. This would ensure that she has enough ranking points to climb up the WTA Rankings and gain a direct entry into most of the WTA tournaments, especially majors.
As a result, the four-time major winner enrolled on the 2024 US Open entry list as the World No. 102 player, and with eight players using their special ranking, this pushed her to the sixth spot under the cut-off, meaning she now needs six players to withdraw from the tournament to make it directly into the main draw.
Five players ahead of her are Renata Zarazua, Anna Bondar, Petra Martic, Nao Hibino, and Hailey Baptise. The fourth major of the season starts on August 26th, and before the qualifying starts a few days before the tournament, Osaka will need six players to withdraw if she hopes to make the main draw.
Luckily for her, that’s usually the case. Even at the moment, a few players could be potential candidates for a withdrawal, given their frequent injury struggles. Also, at least six withdrawals before the entry list release and tournament starts are usually a standard for Grand Slams.
On top of that, if enough players don’t withdraw before the qualifying, which she would need to play, starts, the former champion may also get a helping hand from the organizers.
Osaka won the tournament twice, in 2018, beating Serena Williams in the final 6-2, 6-4, and in 2020, with a comeback win over Victoria Azarenka, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. As a former champion and a crowd magnet, she could receive one of the wild cards, which would give her direct entry into the main draw.
At the end of the day, Osaka is one of the players who should entertain fans at the US Open during Fan Week, as she’s set to team up with Nick Kyrgios in a mixed doubles exhibition event.
However, the Australian player doesn’t appear on the men’s entry list for the 2024 US Open, putting their participation at the event in doubt.
