WATCH: Naomi Osaka Leaves Press Conference In Tears After Roland Garros Disappointment
NewsMonday, 26 May 2025 at 21:21
Naomi Osaka played well in the first round of the 2025 Roland Garros, but she didn't play well enough to get past Paula Badosa.
Although Osaka has yet to reach her peak level since returning to the tennis courts as a mother, she managed to put together a few very impressive performances. At the same time, she has yet to properly break through and have an impressive run.
One of the reasons why she has yet to make that big step is because of how unlucky the Japanese player has been with draws. That was on full display again at the French Open, as she drew Paula Badosa in the opening round.
Osaka is the WTA World No. 49 player, so until she improves her ranking a bit more, she will always be at risk of taking on seeded players. Still, despite playing challenging opponents, the four-time Grand Slam champion almost always puts up a great fight, and she did the same thing in the French capital.
Although she wasn't happy about the doping control prior to the tournament start, Osaka was able to forget that minor inconvenience, and she played well against Badosa. Ultimately, however, it was the Spanish player who was victorious, beating Osaka 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-4.
For Osaka, it was yet another disappointing loss. It's been more than a year since her comeback, and she has yet to reach a seeding spot for Grand Slams, and even though she can play well, her results don't necessarily reflect that.
That was likely one of the reasons why Osaka was very dejected after the loss. She struggled to hold back tears during her press conference, even leaving in the middle of it, as she didn't want to cry when talking about disappointing others.
"I mean, I think as time goes on, I feel like I should be doing better. But also, I kind of talked about this before, maybe a couple of years ago, or maybe recently, I'm not sure."
"I hate disappointing people. So, like, even with Patrick [Mouratoglou], I was thinking this just now, but he goes from working with, like, the greatest player ever to, like, What the fuck this is? You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing, I hope I don't get fined, but..."
Although Osaka was incredibly disappointed, she can be happy about her performance, and also the fact that the clay-court part of the season is now over.
The Japanese player has enjoyed the hard courts the most, and she will have a chance to show her mastery on that surface right after a short grass-court swing, during which she could do well, too.
Speaking after the match, Osaka tried to look at the positives, but given the disappointing loss, she struggled to be very positive.
"I think, I'm not sure. I feel like I learn little things from each match. I think I lost the tiebreaker in Rome, and I didn't lose the tiebreaker here. So, I mean, I am conscious of things when I'm playing, so maybe the next match I play lI learn little things from today."
Popular News
Just In
