Two years after her last appearance, the Japanese player wins her first round match at the French Open. Thanks to the motivation of her young daughter
Successful return to Paris for Naomi Osaka: two years after her last appearance at the French Open, the four-time Grand Slam winner from Japan has won her opening match at Roland Garros.
On the first day of the tournament, Osaka beat Lucia Bronzetti from Italy 6:1, 4:6, 7:5. She was already 4-0 up in the third set before the Japanese player completely lost the plot for a while
In the second round, she could face defending champion Iga Swiatek (Poland).
Osaka (26), who triumphed twice at the major tournaments in New York and Melbourne, does not have the best memories of the clay court classic in Paris.
Daughter Shai motivates Osaka
She has never made it past the third round
In 2021, she refused to attend the obligatory press conferences after her matches, reported mental health problems and retired after the second round. In 2022, she failed in the first round. Last year, she was absent due to pregnancy.
Her daughter Shai motivates Osaka to build on her previous successes on clay. “I’m learning a lot of lessons from being a mother and I hope to be able to apply them on the tennis court,” she said before her opener.
In Paris, she had her ten-month-old daughter with her – and watched Shai take her first steps. “I was so happy about it,” said Osaka, “it’s so nice to have her here. “
