Osaka gains confidence from close Roland Garros battle with Swiatek: “I'm optimistically looking forward to clay next year”

Naomi Osaka came away with positive takeaways after her loss to Iga Swiatek at the recent French Open. The 27-year-old Japanese player delivered an impressive performance on the clay courts of Roland Garros, putting the world No. 1 on the ropes and missing a match point in the second round.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion has had a strong comeback season following a long break for mental health and subsequently for motherhood. Osaka has quickly climbed back into the top-100 without playing many tournaments and has secured victories over high-ranked opponents.

Despite her well-known ability to perform at a high level on a good day, Osaka had not previously excelled on clay or grass courts, with all her 7 titles to date coming on hard courts. She had never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros or Wimbledon.

However, this year left a positive impression of what she can achieve. At the French Open, she defeated Lucia Bronzetti in the opening round and then challenged 3-time champion Swiatek. Although the Polish player ultimately won, Osaka nearly changed the course of the match when she had a match point in the third set. Swiatek managed a comeback to win, in what was the most challenging match she faced on her way to the title.

"You know, that Iga match did wonders for my confidence, I'm not going to lie. I'm optimistically looking forward to clay next year," Osaka said at a press conference during the Canadian Open. "Grass, I'm looking at it from a distance (laughing), but I'm willing to learn, I'm going to watch a lot of tapes of Serena. That's kind of a next-year thing," Naomi Osaka added.

Unfortunately for the Japanese player, she could not showcase her best tennis this week at the Toronto Open, falling in the second round to Belgian Elise Mertens. Nonetheless, the 27-year-old remained optimistic about the remainder of the hardcourt season.

"I think for me now, I'm really focusing on the US Open, Asia, that's kind of the areas that I thrive, so I'm, I don't know, looking forward to it," she said. Her next appearance is slated for the Cincinnati Open, although Osaka recently cast doubt on her participation after losing her luggage at the airport: “lost my bags and if I don’t get them tonight or tomorrow I literally can’t play Cincinnati,” she wrote on X.