The live stream of Naomi Osaka vs. Marie Bouzoukova is about to begin, and the defending women's singles champion is the top seed on this live US Open team. Unlike last year's U.S. Open, Osaka is not the fourth seed, which brings with it all the anticipation.

This summer has not been kind to Osaka, who has not reached the quarterfinals since March. Nevertheless, with a 17-2 record in Grand Slam openers, a first round win is almost a certainty for Osaka. [The last time these two played was at the 2020 Australian Open. On that occasion, Osaka won 6-2 6-4.

However, on her blog, Osaka said, "My life is my own and I should not evaluate myself by someone else's standards. I am putting my heart and soul into everything I can do. I cannot get my hopes up any more.... When I look at all that is happening in the world, I wake up in the morning and feel that it is a victory. That's how we've been doing it."

This sounds like she has a pretty clear mind for the US Open.

The biggest threat to Osaka is Ashleigh Barty, who is back in competition after an early first-round loss at the Olympics (Osaka lost in the third round).

Here's how to watch Naomi Osaka vs. Marie Buzkova online:

If you have to leave your "bubble" or suffer the dreaded local blackout and are on cable TV and live Naomi Osaka vs. stream, you are not out of luck. With a virtual private network (VPN), you can pretend you are surfing from your hometown and access the same streaming services you have already paid for.

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We tested a variety of services and chose ExpressVPN as the best VPN overall. They offer great speed and excellent customer service.

Here's how easy it is to stream from anywhere in the world:

1. get a VPN (ExpressVPN is the best choice) 2. connect to the location you want to stream from 3. use your usual streaming service and watch as normal

Exclusive Tom's Guide Discount: in the U.S., there is a live stream of Naomi Osaka vs Marie Bouzoukova today (August 30) around 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN2.

The U.S. Open matches will be broadcast on the ESPN-affiliated networks and streamed on ESPN3, ESPN Plus, and the ESPN app. There are also broadcasts on the Tennis Channel.

If you cut cable, you can watch all of these channels on Sling TV (via Sling Orange) or Fubo TV's entry-level package. Both are on the list of best streaming services, but tennis fans who also like basketball will not want to use Fubo, which has no TNT. Tennis channels can be added with the Sports Extra (Sling) and Sports Plus (Fubo) packages for $11 per month.

Unlike Wimbledon, British fans will have to stay up late for this match; the Naomi Osaka vs. Marie Bouzoukova match, available on Amazon Prime Video, will start earlier than 12:00 am BST.

Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime for £79 per year.

If you are from the UK and want to watch from abroad, you can use a VPN to connect.

Canadian tennis fans can watch a live stream of Naomi Osaka vs. Marie Bouzoukova on TSN. This service can be signed up a la carte or added to a package. It begins at approximately 7:00 PM ET.

TSN1 should be the channel you are looking for, but there are additional broadcasts tonight on TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5.

TSN's streaming-only service starts at $19.99 CAD per month.