(adds dropped number 18 in first bullet point)
TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Former world number one Naomi Osaka suffered a 6-3 7-5 defeat by Slovakian teenager Mia Pohankova in the Pan Pacific Open second round on Thursday.
• Wildcard Pohankova, who turned 18 this month, advanced to the quarter-finals after upsetting the Japanese former champion and seventh seed in front of Osaka’s home fans
• “I am really proud of myself,” Pohankova said. “It is the first time I have played against such a hard player and I feel really, really good”
• Osaka, 29, had opened her campaign with a straight-sets victory over Jasmine Paolini but could not build on that performance as her 2026 season came to an end
• The defeat capped a mixed season for the four-times Grand Slam champion, who has struggled for consistency and last week said she had contemplated retirement and often wondered how long she would continue playing
• Pohankova faces American Alycia Parks in the last eight
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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