Slovak hope Mia Pohankova achieved the biggest victory of her career so far. The 18-year-old tennis player eliminated former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka 6:3, 7:5 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo.
The young player showed impressive composure, despite falling behind 0:2 games at the beginning of the match. The champion of the girls at “Wimbledon“ from last year quickly found her rhythm and turned the tide of the first set, which she won 6:3.
The second part offered a much more contested battle. Pohankova kept her concentration in key moments and saved two of her own serve opportunities. At 5:5, the Slovak continued to put pressure on her eminent opponent, and in the 12th game she achieved a decisive break, ending the match after an hour and 35 minutes of play.
Pohankova, who holds a career-high 144th place in the world rankings, reached the top 8 in her first appearance in the main draw of a WTA 500 tournament. Thus, she equaled her best achievement on the WTA Tour, recording her fourth quarterfinal at this level.
The next challenge for the young Slovak will be American Alicia Parks. The two will compete for a place in the semifinals, and Pohankova will have the opportunity to take another important step in her development.
After her success, the teenager did not hide her satisfaction with her performance and emphasized that belief in her own abilities was of key importance.
“I always believe in myself. It was a really great match against her. She is an exceptional athlete and I am proud of what I have achieved. I am extremely happy and I hope this is just the beginning of my career“, shared the Slovak, who is participating in the tournament with a wild card.
Pohankova also revealed how she approached the tense second set. She remained focused on every point, convinced that Osaka had to find a way to change her game. The decisive moment came in the final set, when the Japanese player's forehand went out.
The Slovak tennis player's rise over the past year has been impressive. At the same time in 2025, she was ranked 659th in the world. Since then, she has won an ITF W75 title, reached the ITF W100 final in April and recorded two consecutive semifinals in WTA 125 tournaments in September. Before arriving in Tokyo, she also achieved two victories at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan.
For Naomi Osaka, the elimination is another disappointing result. The Japanese player, who has three finals in Tokyo and returned to the competition for the first time since 2022, failed to reach the quarterfinals in a third consecutive tournament.