World No. 17 Naomi Osaka of Japan was on edge during her second-round match of the ongoing Australia Open 2026. On Thursday, January 22, the Japanese tennis star and four-time Grand Slam champion defeated Romania’s Sorana Cîrstea by sets of 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a two-hour battle held at the Margaret Court Arena. Osaka, however, slipped down with over 41 unforced errors.
With the win, Osaka has advanced to the third round of the tournament, where she will face 168th-ranked Maddison Inglis of Australia. Meanwhile, Inglis defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund in a three-game match by 6-4, 6(3)-7(7), 7(10)-6(7) to qualify for the next round of the Australian Open.
Post-match victory, Osaka noted the mistakes she made on her part and felt sorry for defeating her opponent, who played the final Australia Open tournament of her career. Cirstea’s 18th and final Australian Open appearance ended in disappointment, exiting in the second round.
“I tried to play well. I think I hit a lot of errors, but I tried my best. She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open. So sorry she was mad about it. Honestly, I was just fighting as hard as I could. Just fighting,” Osaka said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Osaka gained quite the attention after reaching the centre court for her first-round match wearing a jellyfish-inspired outfit. The Japanese star donned a sleeveless turquoise dress with pleated white trousers at the bottom, paired with a matching white umbrella, a white wide-brimmed hat, and a long gauzy veil.
Osaka has previously won the Australian Open title in the 2019 and 2021 editions. In the 2026 season, she started her campaign with a hard-fought battle against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, but defeated her in three sets. Meanwhile, her second-round match against Cîrstea had quite a few similarities.
In the opening minutes of the first set, Osaka and the Romanian were in a 2-2 lead until the Japanese star broke through with a strong comeback to take the lead back at 6-3. But Cîrstea dominated the second set, taking the 2-0 lead. Osaka responded but failed with 14 errors to finish at 3-6. But it was the final set of the round where Osaka stormed into to take charge with a 6-2 lead. Cîrstea failed to add much in the decider, which gave the advantage to the Japanese star.
