Overview:
Naomi Osaka, the tennis star celebrated for both her athletic achievements and Haitian-Japanese identity, was eliminated in the first round of the French Open. Despite taking the first set, Osaka lost to Spain’s Paula Badosa and cited physical discomfort and mounting pressure as factors.
By HOWARD FENDRICH | Associated Press – Additional reporting and editing by The Haitian Times
PARIS — Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion whose Haitian and Japanese heritage has made her a global icon, was eliminated in the French Open’s first round Monday, falling to Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4. The former world No. 1, still seeking a breakthrough on the clay of Roland-Garros, struggled with unforced errors and physical discomfort throughout the match.
“As time goes on, I feel like I should be doing better. But also — I kind of talked about this before, maybe a couple years ago, or maybe recently, I’m not sure — I hate disappointing people,” said Osaka after the match, who owns four Grand Slam trophies from the hard courts of the U.S. Open and Australian Open but never has been past the third round on the red clay of Roland-Garros.
Then, referring to her current coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to work with Serena Williams, Osaka said: “He goes from working with, like, the greatest player ever to, like, ‘What the (expletive) is this?’ You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing. I hope I don’t get fined.”
Osaka, who was born in Japan and moved to the United States as a young child, was undone Monday by 54 unforced errors. That was twice as many as Badosa, whose best showing at a major was a semifinal run at the Australian Open in January and who reached the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2021.
After taking the opening set, Osaka was treated by a trainer for hand blisters and also took time to clip her sakura-themed fingernails on the sideline.
She attributed the blisters, which also bothered her at the Italian Open this month, to “the friction of clay, because I don’t have blisters on any other surface.”
Osaka’s powerful serves and groundstrokes are dulled by the clay, and that showed against Badosa. Osaka was broken five times and finished with nearly as many double-faults, five, as aces, seven.
Once ranked No. 1 and currently No. 49, Osaka withdrew from the French Open in 2021 before her second-round match, explaining that she experiences “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the media and revealing she had dealt with depression. She then took multiple mental health breaks away from the tour.
She helped usher in a change in the way athletes, sports fans and society at large understood the importance of mental health.
A year ago at Roland-Garros, Osaka played one of her best matches since returning to action after becoming a mother, coming within a point of upsetting eventual tournament champion Iga Swiatek.
On Monday, after taking a break from questions, she returned to field one query from a Japanese journalist with an eye to the next major tournament, Wimbledon, which begins on grass on June 30.
“I don’t necessarily know my grass-season schedule right now,” Osaka said.
“I wasn’t really expecting to lose in the first round.”
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