In the midst of her best Wimbledon run since 2018, Naomi Osaka came up short. Osaka was eliminated in the third round of the tournament Friday in a match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Osaka got out to a fast start, taking the first set against Pavlyuchenkova 6-3. Osaka’s serve was particularly strong throughout the entire match, as she racked up 15 aces. She played a mostly error-free game, picking up fewer unforced errors than Pavlyuchenkova.
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But that wasn’t enough to deter Pavlyuchenkova, who was a perfect 13 for 13 in net points. She rode that dominance to win both the second and third sets 6-4 and 6-4 to eliminate Osaka.
The win pushes Pavlyuchenkova in to the fourth round at Wimbledon for just the second time in her career. She reached the quarterfinals at the tournament in 2016, where she fell to Serena Williams.
Despite her past success at Grand Slams, victory at Wimbledon remains elusive for Osaka, who has never advanced past the third round at the tournament. Even during her prime, in which she won two Australian Opens and two French Opens from 2018 to 2021, Osaka struggled at Wimbledon. That poor run continued Friday after her loss to Pavlyuchenkova.
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Osaka has struggled since her 2021 win at the Australian Open, though Friday’s loss offered some hope she can return to form. Her dominant serves were a strong sign she’s feeling good physically. If Osaka can build on that, there’s still a chance she can return to the elite level of tennis she displayed from 2018 to 2021.
