Shinobu Asagoe
The North American hard court season brought mixed fortunes - with Obata reaching the main draw at San Diego (as a lucky loser) but losing to Lina Krasnoroutskaya, before winning a round as a wild card in Los Angeles against Virginie Razzano, before losing to compatriot and fourth seed Ai Sugiyama. At the Tier I tournament in Toronto, Obata qualified and defeated compatriot Shinobu Asagoe in the first round, before falling to seventh seed Amanda Coetzer. Her final tournament before the US Open was at New Haven, where she lost in the final round in qualifying, but was selected as a lucky loser. She lost to former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.