Slovak wild card Mia Pohankova scored the biggest win of her young career on Thursday, beating former champion Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The result was reported by the WTA and Tennis Now, which both confirm the same scoreline and its significance. Pohankova, ranked 144th in the world and a career-high, according to the WTA, overcame an early 2-0 deficit to take the opening set 6-3, according to the WTA. She then held her nerve in a closely contested second set, saving break points in two of her service games before breaking Osaka in the 12th game to seal the win in 1 hour, 35 minutes, according to the WTA.
Biggest win of a young career
The WTA described the win as the biggest of Pohankova’s career, according to Tennis Now, and as a career-best performance, according to the WTA’s own report. Pohankova, last year’s Wimbledon junior singles champion, according to the WTA, advanced to her maiden Tokyo quarterfinal, according to Tennis Now, in her first main-draw appearance at a WTA 500-level tournament, according to the WTA. Osaka, a three-time finalist in Tokyo who was playing the tournament for the first time since 2022, according to the WTA, suffered a third consecutive event without a quarterfinal appearance, according to the same report. That context does not diminish Pohankova’s win — beating a former champion, even one searching for form, requires composure and belief.
How Pohankova won it
After falling 2-0 behind in the first set, according to the WTA, Pohankova steadied and took control with aggressive, accurate tennis. In the second set, saving break points in two service games, according to the WTA, showed maturity beyond her years. Breaking Osaka in the 12th game, according to the WTA, to avoid a tiebreak was the decisive moment. Tennis Now notes that Pohankova, the 2025 Wimbledon girls’ champion, celebrated the biggest win of her young pro career, according to its match report. The WTA’s social post, quoted by Tennis Now, called it the biggest win of her career and noted her place in her first WTA quarterfinal.
What the win set up
Pohankova went on to beat Alycia Parks in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals, according to the Associated Press account, confirming that the Osaka win was the start of a run rather than a single upset. For Osaka, the defeat continues a search for consistency after her return to Tokyo. For Pohankova, it is the match that announced her arrival on the main tour — and the one fans will remember when they look back at her breakthrough week.
