Naomi Osaka to drop out of top 80 for 1st time since 2016 following 3R loss at Australian Open
Naomi Osaka's Australian Open title defense came to a premature end as she lost to unseeded American Amanda Anisimova in the third round on Friday. By virtue of the loss, Osaka, who is currently ranked No. 14, is projected to drop to No. 84 when the WTA rankings are updated next week.
The Japanese, who currently possesses 2,696 ranking points, was defending a whopping 2,000 points at the Melbourne Slam as a consequence of her triumph at the event last year.
The 24-year-old, however, will drop all those points on Monday, while only gaining 130 points for her third-round appearance. This would reduce her tally to a lowly 826 points. For context, Maryna Zanevska, who is currently No. 80, sits on 892 points.
Osaka was last ranked outside the top 80 in August 2016, when she was No. 88 in the world. The four-time Major winner was just 19 years old back then, and had not even reached a WTA final at that stage of her career.
Naomi Osaka's slide had begun last year
Naomi Osaka has lost plenty of points due to a combination of poor results and time spent away from the court to protect her mental health. Not only did the Japanese lose early at the 2021 US Open, where she was the defending champion, but she also sat out a majority of the season.
The 24-year-old dropped 1,000 points from her title-winning run in 2019 Beijing, which led her to fall out of the top 10 for the first time since her maiden Major win at the 2018 US Open.
For what it's worth, her ascent a couple of years ago was just as meteoric as her recent fall. The Japanese was ranked as low as No. 44 in the world when she won her first big title at the 2018 Indian Wells in March.
She had a relatively quiet year until the US Open, where she beat 23-time Major winner Serena Williams to punctuate her breakthrough to the top of women's tennis. As a result of her triumph, she jumped from No. 19 to No. 7 in the WTA rankings.