© Getty Images Sport – Michael Owens
Naomi Osaka made sure to acknowledge to a reporter that she hasn’t been the top-ranked player in the game for quite some time and that Iga Swiatek has been dominating the Tour for the past couple of years.
On Saturday, former world No. 1 Osaka ousted No. 14 seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-5 6-3 to reach the Indian Wells third round as a wildcard. For Osaka – who was out for 16 months due to pregnancy before returning to tennis in January – this is the first time this season that she has won back-to-back matches.
Following her very notable win over Samsonova, Osaka was asked to share her thoughts on taking time away as the world No. 1 and then return to playing on the biggest stage.
“I wasn’t the number one player – Iga… Iga’s been number one for like four years,” Osaka responded with a laugh.
After capturing her second Grand Slam title at the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka officially became the world No. 1 for the first time in her career on January 28th. In her first stint as the top-ranked player in the world, Osaka spent 21 weeks. Later in the summer of 2019, Osaka lost the world No. 1 spot but was able to regain it and spend there four more weeks…
