The qualifiers in Miami are set in Indian Wells and Naomi Osaka will take on Yulia Starodubtseva in the first round.
After the main draw was released for the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, it was revealed that the four-time Grand Slam winner would take on a qualifier. And after waiting two days, the Japanese learned that it would be the 108th-ranked Ukrainian, who beat Varvara Lepchenko and Tatjana Maria in qualifying.
When Osaka and Starodubtseva meet, it will be the first time that they will be clashing against each other. While the Ukrainian has won her last two matches, it has still been a pretty poor year for her since she is only 3-8 this year and there is no doubt that the former world No. 1 is the favorite to win their match.
🇺🇦Yuliia Starodubtseva has learned her first-round opponent at the WTA 1000 event in the U.S.
After successfully coming through qualifying, she will face 🇯🇵Naomi Osaka—former World No.1 and four-time Grand Slam champion.
This week, Starodubtseva is ranked No.108, while Osaka… pic.twitter.com/Ix7Bl0BGDy
— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) March 18, 2025
Can Osaka turn the page in Miami after her Indian Wells run left her disappointed?
After reaching the Auckland final and the Australian Open third round – before seeing both of her campaigns finish in a retirement due to an abdominal injury – the former world No. 1 took a break after the Australian Open and didn’t play until Indian Wells. While the 27-year-old looked healthy in her return, she didn’t play anywhere near her best and ended up losing 4-6 4-6 to Camila Osorio.
Following the loss, Osaka said it “sucked” to pick up an injury after such a positive start to 2025. Also, she said that she would try to get some work done before Miami and hopefully do better than in Indian Wells.
In the past, Osaka made one final in Miami, losing to Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Tennis World USA