“My GOAT”- Naomi Osaka sends touching message to Gael Monfils after their US Open mixed doubles loss, Frenchman’s wife Elina Svitolina also reacts

Naomi Osaka expressed her heartfelt thanks to Gael Monfils, who partnered with the former World No. 1 at the newly revamped mixed doubles event at the 2025 US Open. This was the first time the two players were on the court as a team.

Osaka and Monfils faced off against the team of Lorenzo Musetti and Caty McNally in the opening match on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday (August 19). Despite the early exchanges, Musetti and McNally broke first and had the opportunity to win the first set.

However, Osaka/Monfils broke back to make it 3-3 but eventually lost the first set 5-3. In the second set, one service break was enough for Musetti/McNally, who won 4-2.

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After the match, Naomi Osaka penned a heartfelt message to her mixed doubles partner on social media. In her Instagram story, she referred to Monfils as "My GOAT" and thanked him for partnering with her at the event.

"Played with my (goat emoji)..Happy I can cross this off the bucket list" wrote Osaka

Osaka later commented the same on Monfil's post as the Frenchman shared their moments on court from the mixed doubles match. On this occasion, his wife, Elina Svitolina, also gave her reaction. posting two star emojis, showing her support for the mixed doubles team.

Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina are both seeded at the US Open, which begins with its main draw on August 24.

Naomi Osaka comes into New York with good form

2025 has seen Osaka gradually get to her best form. She reached a final after almost two years in Auckland earlier this year but had to retire from her match against Clara Tauson. Post that run to the final, injuries and inconsistent form saw her form decline in the coming months.

One problem for Osaka was her facing difficult opponents at the initial rounds of Majors as she was unseeded, which was evident after her close loss against Paula Badosa at the French Open. However, at the beginning of the North American hard-court swing, she made a significant decision to replace Patrick Mouratoglou with Tomasz Wiktorowski as her coach.

The change did wonders for her, as she reached the WTA 1000 final at the Canadian Open, which was her first WTA 1000 final since the 2022 Miami Open. Even though she lost against home favorite Victoria Mboko, her run to the final assured Osaka of a seeding in New York, with her entering the Slam as the 23rd seed.

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About the author

SAGNIK DATTA

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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