INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Naomi Osaka’s ability deliver a victory speech is, by her own admission, a work in progress, but if she continues to play as well as she did this year in the California desert, she will get plenty of chances to perfect the art.
It has long been clear that Osaka had the requisite power and ball-striking ability to eventually become a force on the women’s tour. But she proved in Indian Wells that she was ready — right here and right now — to take a leading role.
With her improved movement and consistency, the unseeded Osaka rumbled through the women’s draw: dismissing the former No.