WTA250 Auckland: Clara Tauson vs Naomi Osaka final analysis
Tauson clinched a third career Tour title when Osaka retired right after the end of the first set
The final in Auckland was a clash of big-hitters in search of a long-awaited and revitalizing title. This was the first Tour championship match in nearly 3 years for any of them. They had last been crowned champions in 2021.
For Clara Tauson (WTA #50), 2021 was her coming-out season and also her most accomplished year thus far. As a 19-year-old, the towering Dane captured 2 WTA 250 titles (Lyon and Luxembourg) and reached another final. Promising early results that lifted her to #33, by the spring of 2022. But injuries stalled her progress and Tauson dropped in the rankings, sometimes even to outside the Top-100, after failing to replicate her 2021 form.
While playing a mix of Tour events and WTA 125s (where she reached 2 finals) in 2024 and occasionally delivering a mighty impressive performance to remind us all of her potential, Tauson brought her ranking back up to #50 at season’s end. Still aged 22, it will be interesting to see what kind of damage Tauson inflicts in 2025 while playing a full season on Tour.
The ASB Classic final was Naomi Osaka’s (WTA #58) chance for a first title since completing her second career US Open-Australian Open double, in February 2021. She had last played a final at WTA 1000 Miami 2022, half a year before taking a 15-month maternity leave.
Returning to the Tour exactly one year ago, the former #1 had a few tough draws, some tight defeats and never got past the quarter-final stage at any event. This week, Osaka was very honest in expressing disappointment in her 2024 results and announcing that she will carry on only if getting her results and ranking back up to the level she expects.
In the first 6 games of the Auckland final, Osaka showed flashes of brilliance that bode well for her 2025 season and consequently, her career longevity. With powerful, clean strikes and improved agility the Japanese 27-year old raced to a 5-1 lead behind 11 winners and just 2 unforced errors.
Some of Osaka’s best moments included bullet returns (like the one below)…
📺 source: WTA Tv
… and an incredible smoothness in generating offense while/after hitting a tough shot.
The longest rally of the match (12 shots, below) demonstrated Osaka’s improved court coverage and mobility.
→ The former #1 ran from side to side until the opportunity for a big forehand strike arrived
Unfortunately, Osaka’s body didn’t hold up for much longer and she was forced to retire with an abdominal injury, immediately after taking the first set by 6-4.
This was Osaka’s second consecutive loss by retirement. Her 2024 season met an abrupt end at WTA 1000 Beijing when the Japanese abandoned prior to the start of the final set in her round of 16 match against Coco Gauff. Osaka led 6-3 4-3, a break up, but pulled out once Gauff turned the second set around.
In her last 9 matches played across Beijing 2024 and Auckland, Osaka has won 7 and retired from the other 2 while not being down on the score. Let’s hope Osaka can find an injury-free stretch very soon!
Feeling for Osaka, Tauson wasn’t too thrilled with how she clinched a third career Tour title.
"It’s not the way you want to win any match, and especially not the final. I felt like I had some more tennis to show today."
— Clara Tauson, from WTA Tour
During the abbreviated final, Tauson’s serving caught our attention.
The Dane fired 7 aces and won all 9 1st serves delivered down the T (yellow circle). Remarkably, only once was Osaka able to find the court while returning a Tauson T 1st serve. The other 8 serves ended on aces (6x) or forced return errors (2x).
Earlier in the week, Tauson had delivered 26 aces in a 2h39min tussle with Sofia Kenin. At one point, Tauson trailed 4-6 3-5. Then Kenin held a match point during the second set tie-break.
→ Tauson’s match point save against Sofia Kenin in round 2
Tauson finally prevailed 4-6, 7-69-7, 7-67-3 and followed it with a 6-4, 7-69-7 win over top seed Madison Keys, avoiding a third set with another comeback from 3-5 down in the second set and saving 3 set points along the way.
In the end, the ASB Classic title was Tauson’s reward for her great fighting spirit and intrepid play on crunch time.
From the first week of the 2025 season:
Clara Tauson (WTA #50, seed 5) vs Naomi Osaka (WTA #58, seed 7)
2025 Auckland Final - Match Data
Strategy Stats
Points won by Rally Length
Rally Length
Winners and Errors (returns and rally shots)
Strokes Breakdown
Direction of winning shots and unforced errors (only groundstrokes)
Serve and Return
2nd Serves
Return & rallying performance
Points won breakdown
This final section gives a last, broader look at the match by presenting how each player won points. Points are listed according to their frequency (highest to lowest) and are named in relation to the last touch on the ball. For simplicity, groundstrokes hit from the 5th shot onwards are grouped together.
Breakdown by side (FHs or BHs)
Breakdown by error type (UFEs or FEs)
To find out more about the stats published here, please visit the following post.
While we follow the same criteria used on all major tennis events, our stats are collected through our own video analysis and are not official WTA or ITF stats.
Thanks for reading!
— Tennis Inside Numbers