Super excited to play her,” she added.
Osaka acknowledged Sabalenka's status as world number one. “She's the number one player in the world,” Osaka said.
“If there is someone I had to lose to, I would pick that ranking position.”
Neither player has won a WTA title on grass, but Osaka enters with momentum after reaching the Bad Homburg Open final last month, where she increased her average first-serve speed to 109 mph.
“I've been doing really well on grass this year. My confidence is pretty high,” she said.
Osaka admitted she previously struggled with movement on grass due to a bad fall. “I don't fear it too much any more.
When I was younger I slipped pretty bad and ever since then I was scared of moving on grass,” she said.
“It's taken a long time to get comfortable but I would say I am at that point now.”
Sabalenka has historically fared better at Wimbledon than Osaka, though the tournament remains the only Grand Slam where she has not reached the final.
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“The plan is to get better every day and do a little bit better than I usually do on this beautiful grass,” she said.
