At the time of the 1995 Australian Open, her family survived the Great Hanshin earthquake, and Sawamatsu went on to achieve her best Grand Slam result at Melbourne Park, reaching the quarterfinals by defeating compatriot Ai Sugiyama, Laurence Courtois, Kimiko Date in the third round, Mary Joe Fernandez in the fourth round before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

She retired from professional tennis after losing in the second round of the 1998 Japan Open to Monica Seles in a three-set match.

Sawamatsu had wins over the following players during her career: Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Kimiko Date, Mary Joe Fernandez, Amanda Coetzer, and Conchita Martínez.

She was the first player to be beaten by Venus Williams in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the French Open in 1997.

Sawamatsu appeared in the 2018 TBS medical drama Black Pean as Yoshie Koyama, the wife of a patient.