Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has lost in the French Open’s first round to 10th-seeded Paula Badosa 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4
French Open: Naomi Osaka exits in the first round with a loss to Paula BadosaBy HOWARD FENDRICHAP Tennis WriterThe Associated PressPARIS
PARIS (AP) — Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was undone by 54 unforced errors and lost in the French Open’s first round to 10th-seeded Paula Badosa 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4 on Monday.
Osaka finished with exactly twice as many unforced errors as Badosa, whose best showing at a major was a semifinal run at the Australian Open in January and made the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2021.
A two-time title winner at both the U.S. Open and Australian Open on hard courts and a former No. 1-ranked player, Osaka has never produced her best results on the red clay used in Paris.
In 2021, she withdrew from the French Open 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 a 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.
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.
___
Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
