Naomi Osaka aims for all-surface dominance to fulfil potential

Osaka won fourth grand slam title at Australian Open
All her major victories have come on hard courts

Not too long after Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open women’s final to improve her grand slam title haul to four in four attempts, the hype truly began. Certain sports websites tweeted about her as a possible GOAT while fans predicted plenty of major titles to come. Expectations skyrocketed.

It is understandable, of course, because what she has achieved is astounding and timely. Women’s tennis has been looking for someone to take the tour by the scruff of the neck for more than a decade. Nobody could have imagined the person to do so would be so cold-blooded that she would snatch her first four grand slam finals and break into the public consciousness so easily. As Justine Henin said on Eurosport: “To me, women’s tennis has a new boss. Naomi Osaka has this capacity, she has taken another dimension.”