Naomi Osaka won the French Open for the first time since 2021.

In the opening round of the French Open on Sunday, Naomi Osaka defeated unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to record her first victory at Roland Garros in three years.

 

After taking a 15-month maternity vacation this year, Osaka fell in the opening round of the Australian Open in January. However, as the former world number one attacked Bronzetti from the baseline, she looked set to move on to the second round in Paris.

The four-time Grand Slam winner had not triumphed at the French Open since 2021, when she eventually quit due to a disagreement with the organizers on her reluctance to do her obligatory media duties.

Osaka stated, “There were moments when I played very well, but I was really nervous and tight,” in an on-court interview.

Jelena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin were among the other past major champions who advanced to the second round on Sunday. The 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova suffered a 7-6 (3), 6-4 loss to Viktorija Golubic, ending her 0-3 record in Paris following her 7-0 championship victory three years prior.

When Osaka regained her composure in the third set, she acknowledged that she was reflecting on the length of time that had passed between her Grand Slam titles.

She added, “I was thinking to myself that I would really like to win a match here because I didn’t win a single match in Australia.” That was obviously a bad line of reasoning. I was concentrating too much on it rather than attempting to play point by point, and I believe that in the end, I was able to push that idea out of my head.”

On the Philippe Chatrier Court, Osaka controlled the opening set, winning it in 28 minutes. However, in the second set, she made a lot of unforced errors, which gave Bronzetti the advantage and forced a crucial set. Osaka broke at 5-4.

But in the last set, Osaka, 26, found her form again and had a chance to lead 5-0. Despite making a strong recovery, Bronzetti—ranked 67th in the world—appears to fall short.

In the eleventh game, Osaka made a critical break and ultimately prevailed in the back-and-forth match.

Bronzetti, ranked 48th, has lost all three of his Roland Garros encounters. Her Grand Slam tournament record is 3–10 over her career. She lost her most recent match last week in the quarterfinals of the Morocco Open, despite leading American Peyton Stearns 5-0 in the third set.

The top-seeded and ranked Iga Swiatek, a two-time French Open champion, will be Osaka’s next opponent. On Monday, Swiatek’s first-round matchup is against Leolia Jeanjean, a French qualifier.

Osaka stated, “To be honest, I’m quite excited (about the possibility of playing Swiatek)” following her victory on Sunday. I watched Serena a lot when I was pregnant, and to be honest, I believe it’s an honor to play against her in the French Open because she has won multiple times. For me, it’s undoubtedly a great honor and task.

Kenin rallied to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 against Laura Siegemund. Kenin, the winner of the 2020 Australian Open and runner-up at the French Open, will now take on Caroline Garcia, the 21st seed from France.

Rebecca Sramkova was defeated 7-6, 6-4 by American Amanda Anisimova, who in 2019 as a teenager advanced to the Roland Garros semifinals. Following her return from a back muscle injury, Anisimova had a 1-3 record and had advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

Anisimova declared, It was not a nice start to my European swing. However, I’m making a lot of effort to figure out what went wrong in those competitions and how I might improve. I’m pleased with my fighting and playing style.