World No. 24 Naomi Osaka made easy work of her third-round match against Daria Kasatkina to emerge 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 winner. That sets up a date with none other than Coco Gauff in what is is bound to be a mouth-watering round-of-16 matchup.
Gauff, 21, appeared to move away from her service struggles as she emerged 6-3, 6-1 winner against Magdalena Frech in the third round. Speaking after her victory over Kasatkina, Osaka talked about the upcoming matchup, and claimed that she wanted people to support her as well.
"I kinda also see her as a little sister, so it's really cool to be playing her here again."
Naomi Osaka on playing against Coco Gauff at the US Open 🥺 pic.twitter.com/Yl441O5MfE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 30, 2025
“Can somebody come to the match and cheer for me? Because I mean it’s kinda tough playing an American here, but I hope you guys kind of adopted me as well, so yeah, I don’t know. I kinda also see her as a little sister, so it’s really cool to be playing her here again,” she said.
Osaka said that she was a bit shaky at the start and claimed that playing at the US Open felt like “home.” This will be the sixth matchup between the two.
Gauff has won thrice, while Osaka won the other two, including their first-ever meeting back in 2019 in the third round of the US Open. The former world No. 1 has won the US Open twice before, in 2018 and 2020, and is clearly a familiar face for audiences.
However, against Gauff, she may also have the crowd turning on her as most wish to see a repeat of 2023, when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the finals to win her first grand slam at the age of 19. The now-21-year-old comes into this matchup after having recently added biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan to work on her serve technique after consistent trouble with double faults.
However, the current World No. 3 will be the big favorite for this matchup.
