Naomi Osaka loses to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the 3rd round
Osaka said afterward that she was upset by the result because she 'actually thought I could play well, like, in general' and 'make a deep run here.'
'I wanted to do better than I did before,' she said. 'Also, I felt like I was trying so hard.'
Asked what positives she can take away from the grass-court portion of the season, Osaka replied: 'I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I'm so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I'm working on.'
She is a former No. 1 now ranked 50th and a four-time Grand Slam champion, all on hard courts — she won the U.S. Open and Australian Open twice apiece.
Osaka arrived at the All England Club this year having lost three of her last four matches at the place and with a career record of 5-4 there. Her best showing was getting to the third round in 2017 and 2018; she missed the tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
After a victory earlier this week, she spoke about how she played with fear on grass for years because of a knee injury she got by slipping on the surface nearly a decade ago, but was feeling better about it lately.
'With age, fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralyzed me, in a way,' she said. 'Now I'm kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass. I think it is working, and I think I am moving pretty well.'
But from 4-all in the third set Friday, Pavlyuchenkova grabbed eight of the match's last 10 points, holding at love, then breaking in the final game with the help of a trio of forehand unforced errors by Osaka.
'A majority of you were cheering for Naomi, but that's OK,' Pavlyuchenkova, who turned 34 on Thursday, told the crowd at Court No. 2. 'I'm mentally tough, so that didn't bother me at all. The opposite: It gave me energy.'
Pavlyuchenkova, who is ranked 53rd, was the 2021 runner-up at the French Open, and Friday's victory moved her into the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since she was a quarterfinalist nine years ago.
Osaka, meanwhile, already was looking ahead to the next part of the season — on the North American hard courts leading into the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 24.
'I'm glad to be done with this,' she said, 'and I'm looking forward to the hard courts.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
43 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Wimbledon: All the early upsets could stem from a lack of experience on grass courts
LONDON (AP) — Successful as Novak Djokovic has been on the grass courts of Wimbledon — he's won 100 matches and seven of his 24 Grand Slam trophies there — it's not as if he grew up plying his talents on the surface. Indeed, he never competed or even practiced on it at all until 2005, when he entered the qualifying event held at the nearby Roehampton facility and won three matches there to earn the right to make his debut at the All England Club at age 18. 'That was actually the first year I stepped out on the grass,' said Djokovic, who will play 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur on Monday for a quarterfinal berth at the Grand Slam tournament. 'I must say that it felt very natural for me to adapt to it, even though I grew up on clay.' There will be a 9th different women's champion in the last 9 Wimbledons That's a common refrain among today's pros, and the lack of familiarity with, and comfort on, grass could be one of the reasons for all of the upsets in the early going at Wimbledon. The eight total top-10 seeds — four women, four men — who lost in the first round were the most at any major since they began seeding 32 in brackets in 2001. 'Grass,' 2022 champion Elena Rybakina said after her third-round exit Saturday, 'is very unpredictable.' With her departure, and defending champ Barbora Krejcikova's loss to Emma Navarro a few hours later, there is guaranteed to be yet another first-time women's title winner this year at the All England Club. Whoever takes home the trophy on July 12 will be the ninth woman to do so in the event's past nine editions. Why are the All England Club's grass courts so unpredictable? Plenty of top players learned to play tennis on hard courts, especially in North America, or clay courts, especially in Europe and Latin America. Grass? Not so much, except for those from England or Australia. It's an acquired taste and skill, and it doesn't help anyone that the portion of the season spent on the turf is so abbreviated. 'Usually when I was on grass,' joked Eva Lys, a 23-year-old German who reached the second round at Wimbledon, 'it was when I was tanning.' There are more than 35 hard-court tournaments listed on the 2025 WTA calendar, 11 held on clay and seven on grass, which is used from June 9 through Wimbledon. 'It's not just that we only play on grass for about a month,' said Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at the All England Club a year ago and a first-round loser as the No. 7 seed this time. 'It's a surface that requires a lot of adapting. You have to go by feeling.' The bounces and movement are different on Wimbledon's grass courts There isn't much of a chance to get used to the slippery footing, needing to bend one's knees to reach shots that skid more than bounce, or dealing with the inconsistent ways balls move. 'Everything is so different about it,' said Tommy Paul, the 13th-seeded American who bowed out in the second round after coming down awkwardly on his foot during a point. Growing up in North Carolina, Paul picked up a racket at age 7 and his first surface was green clay. It wasn't until he was 15 or 16 that he first tried hitting on grass, at a junior event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. 'I was probably diving all over the court when I didn't need to. I've always said it's the most fun surface to play on,' Paul said. 'I like the disorder about it." His grass debut arrived earlier than for many who reach the sport's top levels. Like Djokovic, most never set foot on on the stuff until they're about 17 or 18 and heading to England (unlike Djokovic, usually for Wimbledon's junior tournament). Some have one rough encounter that sticks with them. Naomi Osaka, a former No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion on the hard courts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, slipped and hurt her knee nearly a decade ago on grass and that created fear, she said. She has never been past the third round at Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek, another former No. 1 and the owner of five major trophies earned elsewhere, did win a junior Wimbledon title, but it's her least-successful Slam as a pro. She will try to equal her run by getting to the quarterfinals with a victory against No. 23 Clara Tauson on Monday. 'This year on grass, I had some moments where I just felt comfortable and I didn't have to think much,' Swiatek said. 'It was just pretty smooth.'
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Wimbledon: All the early upsets could stem from a lack of experience on grass courts
LONDON (AP) — Successful as Novak Djokovic has been on the grass courts of Wimbledon — he's won 100 matches and seven of his 24 Grand Slam trophies there — it's not as if he grew up plying his talents on the surface. Indeed, he never competed or even practiced on it at all until 2005, when he entered the qualifying event held at the nearby Roehampton facility and won three matches there to earn the right to make his debut at the All England Club at age 18. 'That was actually the first year I stepped out on the grass,' said Djokovic, who will play 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur on Monday for a quarterfinal berth at the Grand Slam tournament. 'I must say that it felt very natural for me to adapt to it, even though I grew up on clay.' There will be a 9th different women's champion in the last 9 Wimbledons That's a common refrain among today's pros, and the lack of familiarity with, and comfort on, grass could be one of the reasons for all of the upsets in the early going at Wimbledon. The eight total top-10 seeds — four women, four men — who lost in the first round were the most at any major since they began seeding 32 in brackets in 2001. 'Grass,' 2022 champion Elena Rybakina said after her third-round exit Saturday, 'is very unpredictable.' With her departure, and defending champ Barbora Krejcikova's loss to Emma Navarro a few hours later, there is guaranteed to be yet another first-time women's title winner this year at the All England Club. Whoever takes home the trophy on July 12 will be the ninth woman to do so in the event's past nine editions. Why are the All England Club's grass courts so unpredictable? Plenty of top players learned to play tennis on hard courts, especially in North America, or clay courts, especially in Europe and Latin America. Grass? Not so much, except for those from England or Australia. It's an acquired taste and skill, and it doesn't help anyone that the portion of the season spent on the turf is so abbreviated. 'Usually when I was on grass,' joked Eva Lys, a 23-year-old German who reached the second round at Wimbledon, 'it was when I was tanning.' There are more than 35 hard-court tournaments listed on the 2025 WTA calendar, 11 held on clay and seven on grass, which is used from June 9 through Wimbledon. 'It's not just that we only play on grass for about a month,' said Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at the All England Club a year ago and a first-round loser as the No. 7 seed this time. 'It's a surface that requires a lot of adapting. You have to go by feeling.' The bounces and movement are different on Wimbledon's grass courts There isn't much of a chance to get used to the slippery footing, needing to bend one's knees to reach shots that skid more than bounce, or dealing with the inconsistent ways balls move. 'Everything is so different about it,' said Tommy Paul, the 13th-seeded American who bowed out in the second round after coming down awkwardly on his foot during a point. Growing up in North Carolina, Paul picked up a racket at age 7 and his first surface was green clay. It wasn't until he was 15 or 16 that he first tried hitting on grass, at a junior event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. 'I was probably diving all over the court when I didn't need to. I've always said it's the most fun surface to play on,' Paul said. 'I like the disorder about it.' His grass debut arrived earlier than for many who reach the sport's top levels. Like Djokovic, most never set foot on on the stuff until they're about 17 or 18 and heading to England (unlike Djokovic, usually for Wimbledon's junior tournament). Some have one rough encounter that sticks with them. Naomi Osaka , a former No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion on the hard courts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, slipped and hurt her knee nearly a decade ago on grass and that created fear, she said. She has never been past the third round at Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek , another former No. 1 and the owner of five major trophies earned elsewhere, did win a junior Wimbledon title, but it's her least-successful Slam as a pro. She will try to equal her run by getting to the quarterfinals with a victory against No. 23 Clara Tauson on Monday. 'This year on grass, I had some moments where I just felt comfortable and I didn't have to think much,' Swiatek said. 'It was just pretty smooth.' ___ AP tennis:
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Wimbledon: All the early upsets could stem from a lack of experience on grass courts
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Successful as Novak Djokovic has been on the grass courts of Wimbledon — he's won 100 matches and seven of his 24 Grand Slam trophies there — it's not as if he grew up plying his talents on the surface. Indeed, he never competed or even practiced on it at all until 2005, when he entered the qualifying event held at the nearby Roehampton facility and won three matches there to earn the right to make his debut at the All England Club at age 18. 'That was actually the first year I stepped out on the grass,' said Djokovic, who will play 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur on Monday for a quarterfinal berth at the Grand Slam tournament. 'I must say that it felt very natural for me to adapt to it, even though I grew up on clay.' There will be a 9th different women's champion in the last 9 Wimbledons That's a common refrain among today's pros, and the lack of familiarity with, and comfort on, grass could be one of the reasons for all of the upsets in the early going at Wimbledon. The eight total top-10 seeds — four women, four men — who lost in the first round were the most at any major since they began seeding 32 in brackets in 2001. 'Grass,' 2022 champion Elena Rybakina said after her third-round exit Saturday, 'is very unpredictable.' With her departure, and defending champ Barbora Krejcikova's loss to Emma Navarro a few hours later, there is guaranteed to be yet another first-time women's title winner this year at the All England Club. Whoever takes home the trophy on July 12 will be the ninth woman to do so in the event's past nine editions. Why are the All England Club's grass courts so unpredictable? Plenty of top players learned to play tennis on hard courts, especially in North America, or clay courts, especially in Europe and Latin America. Grass? Not so much, except for those from England or Australia. It's an acquired taste and skill, and it doesn't help anyone that the portion of the season spent on the turf is so abbreviated. 'Usually when I was on grass,' joked Eva Lys, a 23-year-old German who reached the second round at Wimbledon, 'it was when I was tanning.' There are more than 35 hard-court tournaments listed on the 2025 WTA calendar, 11 held on clay and seven on grass, which is used from June 9 through Wimbledon. 'It's not just that we only play on grass for about a month,' said Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at the All England Club a year ago and a first-round loser as the No. 7 seed this time. 'It's a surface that requires a lot of adapting. You have to go by feeling.' The bounces and movement are different on Wimbledon's grass courts There isn't much of a chance to get used to the slippery footing, needing to bend one's knees to reach shots that skid more than bounce, or dealing with the inconsistent ways balls move. 'Everything is so different about it,' said Tommy Paul, the 13th-seeded American who bowed out in the second round after coming down awkwardly on his foot during a point. Growing up in North Carolina, Paul picked up a racket at age 7 and his first surface was green clay. It wasn't until he was 15 or 16 that he first tried hitting on grass, at a junior event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. 'I was probably diving all over the court when I didn't need to. I've always said it's the most fun surface to play on,' Paul said. 'I like the disorder about it." His grass debut arrived earlier than for many who reach the sport's top levels. Like Djokovic, most never set foot on on the stuff until they're about 17 or 18 and heading to England (unlike Djokovic, usually for Wimbledon's junior tournament). Some have one rough encounter that sticks with them. Naomi Osaka, a former No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion on the hard courts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, slipped and hurt her knee nearly a decade ago on grass and that created fear, she said. She has never been past the third round at Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek, another former No. 1 and the owner of five major trophies earned elsewhere, did win a junior Wimbledon title, but it's her least-successful Slam as a pro. She will try to equal her run by getting to the quarterfinals with a victory against No. 23 Clara Tauson on Monday. 'This year on grass, I had some moments where I just felt comfortable and I didn't have to think much,' Swiatek said. 'It was just pretty smooth.' ___ AP tennis:
