Osaka one win from first grass-court final after Bad Homburg victory

Naomi Osaka has won four Grand Slam singles titles in her career -- two at the Australian Open and two at the US Open. The Japanese star is now one step away from reaching her first career grass-court final after a dominant straight-sets victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Bad Homburg Open on Thursday.

Alexandrova, who upset Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva in the previous round, earned the first break of the match in the third game to take a 2-1 lead in the opening set. Osaka responded emphatically, breaking serve three consecutive times to capture the set 6-2 as part of an eight-game winning streak.

Osaka maintained her focus and composure throughout the second set, closing out a 6-2, 6-2 victory in just 59 minutes.

Here are some key takeaways from Osaka's win:

First career top-20 win on grass

The victory over 19th-ranked Alexandrova was Osaka's 49th career win against a top-20 opponent, but her first on grass. She had previously lost all eight of her matches against top-20 players on the surface.

The result also sends Osaka into her first semifinal of the season and her first since the 2025 U.S. Open.

Second career grass-court semifinal

Osaka has now reached the semifinals of a tour-level grass-court event for only the second time in her career. Her previous appearance at that stage came in Nottingham in 2018 (lost to Ash Barty).

"I think I just keep trying to move forward and I have a goal of wanting to play a lot of matches before I did it, so hopefully I can keep going," Osaka said after her win. "Obviously I can't say that I've had much experience on grass, but I feel really good right now. Tomas (coach) is helping me understand grass a lot more, so I feel pretty comfortable at this point."

Osaka dominates break points and ace count

Osaka converted four of the seven break points she earned on the Alexandrova serve. She faced just two break points on her own serve and saved one of them.

She also struck seven aces in the victory. Osaka also hit seven aces she hit in her previous-round win over Elise Mertens and has totaled 15 aces for the tournament.

Up next: First meeting with Wang Xinyu

Osaka will face China's Wang Xinyu for a place in the final. Wang advanced after receiving a walkover from Elina Svitolina, who withdrew with a right hip injury.

The semifinal will mark the first career meeting between Osaka and Wang.