NEW YORK — The last time Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka met at the US Open six years ago, the emotions for a then-15-year-old Gauff were overwhelming, with her bursting into tears at the end of the 6-3, 6-0 third-round matchup
It was Gauff’s first appearance on the big stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium, but on Monday, a resurgent Osaka again got the best of her fellow former US Open champion and advanced to the quarterfinals with a rather efficient 6-3, 6-2 victory in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sept. 1, 2025.
Gauff’s issues from earlier matches in the tournament reared their ugly head again, with a flurry of unforced errors and double faults, putting her down early as Osaka, a two-time winner at Flushing Meadows, sat back and waited patiently to capitalize on every mistake.
The problems started early, as Gauff, the No. 3 seed, was broken on her initial serve. Then, serving to stay in the first set, she started off with an ace but faltered, double-faulting twice, the last one giving No. 23 seed Osaka the set.
Gauff’s service game has been the focus of her tournament run, with the 2023 champion hiring biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan to help in that department. However, she had 22 double faults during her victories in the first three rounds and another five against Osaka, and combined with 33 unforced errors, prevented her from overcoming those crucial mistakes.
