Naomi Osaka hits seventh fastest serve in WTA history during Abu Dhabi 1R loss

Naomi Osaka succumbed to a 5-7, 0-6 loss against USA's Danielle Collins in the first round of the 2024 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Tuesday (February 6). Osaka, however, can take pride in achieving a rather interesting feat during her defeat.

The Japanese was far from her best during her fifth career meeting with Collins. Osaka didn't win a game after going 5-4 up in the first set. But while the former World No. 1's overall game didn't make an impact, she did hit a scorching 205 km/h first serve in the seventh game of the match.

This was the seventh-fastest serve recorded in WTA history.

Naomi Osaka's previous best in this regard came at the 2016 US Open, where she clocked a first serve at 201 km/hr.

The WTA players that have hit a faster serve since the inception of the women's tour are Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Coco Gauff, Alycia Parks, Sabine Lisicki and Alja Tomljanovic.

The all-time record for the fastest serve hit by a woman is owned by Lisicki. The German hit a 210.8 km/h first serve against Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the 2014 Stanford Classic.

Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Coco Gauff and Alycia Parks are far behind the 2013 Wimbledon finalist, with serves at 207 km/h, 207.6 km/h, 206 km/h and 207.6 km/h, respectively.

---

Naomi Osaka faces uphill climb as she continues her comeback journey

Naomi Osaka looks on at the 2024 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Naomi Osaka has now dropped her last three matches on the WTA Tour. The Japanese, who is ranked a lowly 757th right now, began her 2024 season on a positive note. She beat Germany's Tamara Korpatsch in straight sets in her Brisbane International opener for her first match-win in more than a year.

Osaka then led Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova by a set in the second round, before eventually losing 6-3, 6-7(4), 4-6.

The four-time Major winner didn't have any success in Melbourne a few weeks later, being bundled out in the first round by 16th-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6(2).

Naomi Osaka is 1-3 in tour-level matches for the season after going out in straight sets to Danielle Collins. The Japanese star now has a few days to iron out the chinks in her game before the WTA 1000 tournament in Qatar next week, where she would likely need a wildcard to compete in the main draw.