Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova knocked Naomi Osaka out of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Thursday. The teenager won 6-3 7-5 against the seventh seed, who was playing in front of her home fans in Japan.
Pohankova, who turned 18 a week earlier, received a wild card, a special invitation to enter the tournament. She won the Wimbledon junior singles title in 2025. Osaka had beaten Jasmine Paolini in the first round before losing to the young Slovak player.
The victory takes Pohankova into the quarter-finals, where she will face Alycia Parks. Parks reached the last eight by beating Kimberly Birrell 6-3 6-1 on Thursday. In another last-16 match, Leylah Fernandez defeated fifth seed Elise Mertens 6-2 7-6, winning the second-set tie-break 8-6.
Two other seeded players, who were ranked among the tournament’s leading competitors, had already withdrawn because of injuries. Second seed Maja Chwalinska had an injury to her left thigh, while fourth seed Belinda Bencic had a right-ankle injury.
