Two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka is looking like her old self this week, as the world No. 24 advanced to the 2025 New York Grand Slam's third round for the first time since 2021 with a straight-set win over the US's No. 47 Hailey Baptiste on Thursday.
"I don't make it my business to know anymore, I kind of just leave it up in the air," said the fan favorite following questions about a possible fifth Grand Slam title run. "I've trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens."
After taking her lumps on the WTA Tour since returning from pregnancy in 2024, the 2025 US Open marks Osaka's first seeded entry into a major tournament since 2022 — and she appears to be embracing her competitive boost in style, complete with eye-catching outfits and a matching Labubu.
The 27-year-old Japanese national next faces No. 18 Daria Kasatkina in the pair's third career meeting, with Osaka getting the best of the Australian in both previous matchups — most recently at the 2024 Italian Open.
Should Osaka advance to Sunday's Round of 16, she could be on a collision course toward a date with No. 3 Coco Gauff, after the US star advanced past her own emotionally challenging second-round battle on Thursday.
How to watch Naomi Osaka at the 2025 US Open
With times still to be announced, Osaka will next battle Kasatkina during the second day of 2025 US Open third-round play on Saturday.
Live coverage of the New York Grand Slam airs across ESPN platforms.
The 2025 US Open is putting the WTA's best to the test, with some top-ranked players battling in three-set epics in the annual Grand Slam's first round.
World No. 6 Madison Keys suffered the first major upset of the tournament on Monday, committing 89 unforced errors across three hours and 10 minutes of play to fall to Mexico's No. 82 Renata Zarazúa 6-7 (10), 7-6 (3), 7-5.
No. 3 Coco Gauff also found herself locked in a three-set battle, narrowly defeating Australia's No. 79 Ajla Tomljanović 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 in her own three-hour endurance trial on Tuesday.
"This is the match that I needed," Gauff said afterwards. "I don't think it can get any more stressful than this."
Meanwhile, other top talents have seen smoother rides, with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and No. 4 Jessica Pegula all dispatching their opponents with relative ease.
Fan favorite No. 24 Naomi Osaka also cruised through her first-round matchup against No. 106 Greet Minnen, downing the Belgian in straight sets on Tuesday to meet US star No. 47 Hailey Baptiste on Thursday's second-round court.
A dramatic finish in Wednesday's second-round play also dominated headlines, as popular US contender No. 139 Taylor Townsend — the current world No. 1 doubles player — served Latvia's No. 26 Jeļena Ostapenko a 7-5, 6-1 upset loss in singles play, with the pair's heated post-match exchange causing a stir.
"[Ostapenko] told me I have no class and no education and to see what happens when we get outside the US," Townsend relayed in her on-court interview.
How to watch the 2025 US Open
The US Open's second-round play concludes on Thursday before the third round kicks off on Friday.
Live coverage of the New York Grand Slam airs across ESPN platforms.
US tennis icon Venus Williams has turned back the clock, scoring her first singles win in almost two years at the 2025 DC Open hardcourt tournament this week.
With her straight-set Tuesday victory over fellow US pro and world No. 35 Peyton Stearns, the 45-year-old Williams became the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since then-47-year-old Martina Navratilova did so at Wimbledon in 2004.
"I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night," the seven-time Grand Slam winner said after the match.
Williams's DC Open run also saw her snag an opening two-set doubles victory alongside fellow US partner Hailey Baptiste on Monday, though the pair fell in a three-set battle to the No. 2-seed duo of US star Taylor Townsend and China's Zhang Shuai on Wednesday.
Next on the tennis legend's DC Open docket is a Round of 16 clash with No. 5 seed and world No. 24 Polish contender Magdalena Fręch, as Williams takes her comeback push one match at a time.
"It doesn't matter how many times you fall down. Doesn't matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is," she said. "If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space for you."
How to watch Venus Williams at the 2025 DC Open
Williams will hit the court against Fręch at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.
US tennis icon Venus Williams is back in action, returning to the hard court to feature in both the singles and doubles competition at the 2025 DC Open this week.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion will face off against fellow US player and world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in their tournament opener on Tuesday — the unranked 45-year-old's first official competitive match since exiting the 2024 Miami Open in the first round some 16 months ago.
"Why not?" Williams said of her DC Open wild card berth. "I love the game. And the hard courts, it's my favorite surface, what I feel comfortable on."
"My personal goal is to have fun I think right now and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself," she added.
As one top talent hops back into the spotlight, however, another is stepping out of it, as two-time Wimbledon finalist and current world No. 72 Ons Jabeur announced last Thursday that she's taking an indefinite leave from professional tennis.
"For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges," the former world No. 2 wrote in an Instagram post. "But deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now."
"Tennis is such a beautiful sport," the barrier-breaking 30-year-old Tunisian star added. "But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living."
How to watch Venus Williams at the 2025 DC Open
Williams' return to the WTA court begins on Monday, when the legend will pair up with fellow US player Hailey Baptiste in an opening doubles match against the US's Clervie Ngounoue and Canada's Eugenie Bouchard at 2:30 PM ET.
Her 2025 DC Open singles campaign kicks off against Stearns at 10 AM ET on Tuesday.
Live coverage of all tournament matches will air on the Tennis Channel.
The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.
A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.
At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.
Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.
Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.
With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.
How to watch Wimbledon this weekend
While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.
Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.
Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.
Two US tennis stars are still shining at the 2025 French Open, as world No. 8 Madison Keys and No. 2 Coco Gauff blew through their Round of 16 matches on Monday to set up an all-US quarterfinal showdown on Tuesday.
Gauff dealt No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova a dominant 6-0, 7-5 loss early Monday morning, while 2025 Australian Open champion Keys ended fellow US player No. 70 Hailey Baptiste's French Open run with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat shortly afterward.
"Coco is so good, and especially on clay," Keys said ahead of her upcoming quarterfinal opponent. "She's an unbelievable player and such a great athlete.... I'm looking forward to it and happy to see there will be another American in the semifinals."
Five US women and three men reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros this past weekend, tying the country's 1985 record before Baptiste joined No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 16 Amanda Anisimova on the ousted list.
No US player has won the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015, with both Gauff and Keys shooting for a championship match date against top contenders like No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or No. 5 Iga Świątek — winner of four of the last five Parisian Grand Slams.
How to watch the 2025 French Open
Gauff and Keys will battle for a spot in semifinals on Tuesday morning.
The quarterfinals kick off at 5 AM ET, with live coverage on TNT.