Naomi Osaka Handed Another Wild Card For Tournament Ahead of 2025 Wimbledon

Naomi Osaka has been given another opportunity to get match practice for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships after receiving a wild card for one of next week's events.

Osaka, along with Bianca Andreescu and Eva Lys, played at this week's 2025 Berlin Open after being handed a wild card. She was one set away from reaching the round of 16 after winning the opening set 6-3 against Liudmila Samsonova.

The four-time Grand Slam champion ultimately lost 6-3, 6-7, 4-6. Osaka played well in all three sets in a match that came down to very fine margins. That is shown by both players winning 107 points during the contest.

Osaka's positive performance despite the defeat meant she might have missed an opportunity to build momentum by not competing next week. Those concerns are over after she was confirmed for next week's 2025 Bad Homburg Open.

The tournament's social media pages revealed she was in the main draw as a wild card. Securing the participation of such a high-profile star in the week before Wimbledon is a significant coup for the event.

Grass has not been Osaka's best surface since the start of her career. The seven-time WTA title winner's best run at Wimbledon was to the third round, and all of her finals at WTA 250 level and above were on hard courts.

However, the Japanese star has shown a willingness to improve outside of hard courts. She proved that by winning a 125K tournament in Saint-Malo, which was her first WTA title on clay.

Some players with Osaka's pedigree may have had too much of an ego to drop down to 125K level. Her willingness to do that demonstrates her commitment to improving on all surfaces and to the sport as a whole.

Osaka reached the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. She overcame Diane Parry in a close match before being swept aside by Emma Navarro, who dominated from start to finish in a straight-sets win. Navarro did not concede a break point during the match.

Although Osaka deserves respect for her efforts on all surfaces, hard-court tournaments still feel like the former WTA world No. 1's best opportunity to win at the biggest events again in the next few years.

Osaka is a two-time Australian Open and US Open champion. She will prepare for the 2025 US Open by participating in the new mixed doubles event that will be held on August 19th and 20th during fan week.

Nick Kyrgios has been confirmed as Osaka's partner. The pair share a good relationship off the court, and Kyrgios has done podcast work on Hana Kuma, a platform Osaka co-founded a few years ago.

Carlos Alcaraz's confirmed partnership with Emma Raducanu generated much attention. The Spaniard admitted that he personally asked to play with the Briton, who seemed very happy to accept that offer.

Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek are among the other players who will feature in the 2025 US Open mixed doubles.