Kasatkina bows out of Wimbledon as Osaka stuns on and off court

Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 3:45am

Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 3:45am

In short:

Daria Kasatkina lost to Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-3 leaving the women's draw without any Australians.

Osaka was dominant and looks in ominous form as she looks to claim the Wimbledon title.

What's next?

Alex de Minaur is the only Australian remaining in the main draw and plays Saturday night (AEST).

Naomi Osaka first put on the familiar fashion show, then served up another grass court tennis super show to match as she overpowered Australia's last women's hope Daria Kasatkina at Wimbledon.

The Japanese superstar entered number one court in her latest showstopping outfit, having dispensed with the kimono and obi and opting instead for flowing full-length, blossom-patterned coat.

You have to be pretty good to get away with swanning in like that, and, sure enough, Osaka really did then offer an impression of her supreme Grand Slam-winning best as she stormed into the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time with a rampant 6-1, 6-3 triumph.

Kasatkina, who played by no means poorly as she switched up the variety in her crafty game to contend in the second set, still ultimately couldn't cope with the barrage of 25 winners that flowed from the former world number one's racquet in a fairly brutal 65-minute demolition job.

Kasatkina's exit meant that Alex de Minaur is in the familiar position of being the last Australian left in the singles draws. He plays American Zachary Svajda in the third round on Saturday night (AEST).

"I'm really happy — I've never actually won on this court. I'm just really glad to have made a really good memory here," said 28-year-old four-time major winner Osaka, who appears to be playing her best tennis since returning from her maternity break two-and-a-half years ago.

"I definitely felt really good today," she added, while finding time to praise Kasatkina's valiant effort to make a match of it in the second set when she battled back to 3-3, only for Osaka to lift her game another notch to set up a tantalising fourth-round clash with Aryna Sabalenka or former French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko.

If it is world number one Sabalenka who prevails, she won't find it easy against Osaka, who, after reaching her first grass-court final in Germany last week, appears to have discovered a blend of patience and pinpoint aggression that has long threatened to make her a huge force on the SW19 lawns.

"I'm just trying to take it one day ​at a time, one point at a time," Osaka said, giving nothing away about her real ambitions next week, while good judges like former Australian star Alicia Molik now think she has a genuine shot at winning her first grand slam since lifting the Australian Open crown in 2021.

Osaka also seems in a happy place both on and off the course, as she had the crowd laughing afterwards with tales of how her daughter had been a bit naughty on her third birthday on a visit to the park on the eve of the match.

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