#6. Naomi Osaka
The young Japanese professional has been one of the most exciting young prospects in this year’s World Tour 2016 and has shown a lot of promise this year. After failing to qualify for the Brisbane International, Osaka was successfully able to qualify for the Hobart International where she reached the round of 16. Following this, she reached the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open.She won her first Grand Slam match by beating Donna Vekic in straight sets. This was followed by a shock victory over 18th seeded Elina Svitolina in the second round before falling to two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round.She then reached the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open before losing to eventual champion Sloane Stephens. After failing to qualify for the Indian Wells Masters, Osaka ended her hard-court season by reaching the third round of the Miami Masters.She began her clay-court season by qualifying for the Charleston Open.
Despite being knocked out in the opening round, Osaka reached the Top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career. After successive failed qualifications for the Stuttgart Open and Madrid Masters, Osaka reached the third round of the French Open but not before giving 6th seeded Simona Halep a tough fight.Injuries hampered her grass-court season and as a result, she was forced to miss Wimbledon. After a series of failed qualifications in the US Open series, she had what was perhaps her best Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.
She stunned 28th seeded Coco Vandeweghe in the first round before defeating Chinese qualifier Ying-Ying Duan in the second round to setup a match with 8th seed Madison Keys in the third round. Keys won the first set 7-5 before Osaka came back from 3-4 behind to take the second set 6-4. In the third set, Osaka was just a few inches short of a place in the fourth round at 5-1 and at 5-2, saw herself serving for the match. However, Keys staged a remarkable comeback to win the match which left the teenager in tears.Following the US Open, Osaka reached the final of the Pan Pacific Open, beating the likes of Dominika Cibulkova and Elina Svitolina on the way. She lost to a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki in the final but this result rose her into the Top 50 of the WTA rankings. She ended her season by reaching the quarter-finals of the Tianjin Open where she lost to two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets.Having begun 2016 ranked 127th and ending the year ranked 40th, Osaka was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year. This young talent from Japan has shown a lot of promise this year and provided she matures on her form and game, she could well be a player to watch out for.
