Naomi Osaka of Japan at her quarter remaining match throughout day 5 of the 2020 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on January 10, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia.
Chris Hyde | Getty Images
Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka’s fourth-round U.S. Open showdown will function a welcome journey down reminiscence lane for the 2 fan favorites, as they face off in a match made for prime time on Monday.
Organizers couldn’t have scripted it higher for American followers, with a must-watch assembly between two charismatic former champions on the U.S. Labor Day vacation, six years after their memorable first assembly at Flushing Meadows.
The two confronted off within the 2019 third spherical, the place legions of home followers confirmed as much as watch the then-15-year-old Gauff beneath the lights in her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut, recent off her beautiful run to the Wimbledon spherical of 16.
The then-defending champion and world primary made simple work of Gauff 6-3 6-0, however rapidly comforted the younger American as she dissolved into tears by her bench and urged her to come back handle the gang.
Osaka spent a lot of her personal post-match interview watching the gang cheer wildly for her opponent, a show of beautiful good sportsmanship that endures for tennis followers right this moment.
“I remember it was a tough moment for me because it was a hyped-up match. I remember looking back at it. I guess I put way too much pressure on myself,” mentioned Gauff, who tamed early event nerves to get previous Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-1 and into her fourth consecutive spherical of 16.
“It would be a cool kind of deja vu type of situation (playing again), but hopefully it will be a different result.”
Recalling the encounter, Osaka mentioned on Saturday that it will be particular to play Gauff once more at Flushing Meadows.
“I remember just knowing that she was going to be a really great tennis player,” mentioned the twenty third seed Osaka, who performs for Japan however spent a lot of her childhood close by on Long Island and is counted amongst New York’s adopted daughters.
Coco Gauff of the United States lifts the winners trophy after her victory in opposition to Aryna Sabalenka within the Final of the Women’s singles competitors on Court Philippe-Chatrier through the 2025 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 7, 2025, in Paris, France.
Sipa by way of AP Images
Their careers diverged from there: Osaka would go on to win her third and fourth majors on the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Australian Open — however has been unable to win one other event since, struggling together with her type.
She turned a champion for psychological well being together with her candid disclosures round nervousness and melancholy and has been on the upswing this season, reaching the Montreal remaining after battling her approach again after giving delivery in 2023.
“Sometimes I think about me before I had my pregnancy break… my age was pretty young when I was doing some of the stuff that I was doing,” mentioned Osaka. “I have to give myself a lot of grace on that.”
A girls’s finals report of three.4 million viewers tuned into ESPN to observe Gauff carry the 2023 U.S. Open trophy, 1.1 million greater than the viewers that watched Novak Djokovic declare his twenty fourth main title a day later, a mirrored image of how beloved she is.
Gauff arrived in New York because the third seed after choosing up her second main at Roland Garros earlier this yr — whereas Osaka repeatedly mentioned she was comfortable simply to be seeded in any respect.
“It’s been a real pleasure to see how she’s kind of navigated herself and been a role model to a lot of young people, even though she’s a young person herself,” mentioned Osaka, who beat the fifteenth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-0 4-6 6-3 within the third spherical.
The seven-time main winner Venus Williams, typically cited as an inspiration for each gamers, mentioned their rematch was good for the game.
“Everyone will be watching,” mentioned Williams. “That’s what tennis needs.”