Osaka ‘uses legs’ to survive scare against Starodubtseva in Miami

Former Miami Open finalist Naomi Osaka survived a first-round scare from Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva, coming from a set and a break down to advance 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 28 minutes.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Osaka, the 2022 runner-up to Iga Swiatek, had not won a match since reaching the third round of the Australian Open in January, where she retired trailing Belinda Bencic by a set due to an abdominal injury. Two weeks ago, she fell to Camila Osorio in the first round of Indian Wells in a match she later described as the “worst … of my career.”

The former World No. 1 said afterwards that she had learned from that as she took on Starodubtseva for the first time.

“I knew that I wasn’t playing too well, but I thought, let me try to stay on the court as long as possible, because I consider Miami my home,” Osaka said in her on-court interview. “[In Indian Wells] I was just over-hitting a lot, so I tried to use my legs. I was going to run into every corner if I had to, and we were going to have to play for three hours if she was going to beat me.”

Starodubtseva has endured an even leaner season to date, winning just one of her nine 2025 matches ahead of Miami (none in a main draw). But the 25-year-old Old Dominion University graduate found her feet in qualifying this week with wins over Varvara Lepchenko and Tatjana Maria, and pushed Osaka to her limits. Starodubtseva raced out to a 5-0 lead, then advanced to the brink of victory at 6-3, 4-2.

Former World No. 1 Osaka didn’t quite need three hours in the end, but still showcased plenty of grit as she improved to 4-0 in three-set matches this year. Next up is No. 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova, with whom she split two meetings last year. Samsonova was a 7-5, 6-3 victor in the second round of Indian Wells, but Osaka took her revenge 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 at the same stage of Madrid.

More to come…