Former world number one Naomi Osaka lost in the first round of the French Open on Monday, 12 months after controversially quitting the tournament, while women’s title favourite Iga Swiatek stretched her winning streak to 29 matches.
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, was knocked out 7-5, 6-4 by American 27th seed Amanda Anisimova – the same player who ended the Japanese star’s title defence at the Australian Open this year.
An error-plagued Osaka served up eight double faults and committed 29 unforced errors on her return to Roland Garros, after withdrawing in 2021 when she refused to honour mandatory media commitments before revealing she had been suffering from depression.
“It’s tough to see Naomi Osaka in the first round so I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” said Anisimova, who reached the semi-finals in Paris three years ago.