By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, May 26, 2025
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Naomi Osaka confronted a nail-biter opening set by trimming her nails.
Osaka punctuated the first set by giving herself a manicure.
A candid Osaka opened up on the raw emotional wounds of Grand Slam disappointment after suffering a 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-4 loss to Paula Badosa in a dramatic Roland Garros opener on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 10th-seeded Badosa battled by Osaka in a gripping two hour, 21-minute duel that left a depleted Osaka emotional and tearful in her post-match presser.
“I think [the difference] she was probably more aggressive or something,” Osaka told the media in Paris. “I feel like that’s a mistake that I have made the past two matches. It’s something that I’m trying to fix.
“But also, yeah, I mean, it was a tough match.”
It’s the second year in a row Osaka has confronted Parisian pain.
Last May, reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek fought off a match point in the third set of their second-round meeting before rallying to complete a comeback 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5 victory over Osaka.
Former world No. 1 Osaka tuned up for Paris winning her first career clay-court title in the WTA 125 event at Saint-Malo. But Badosa, an Australian Open semifinalist in January who has been plagued by a chronic back issue, was better at crunch time today.
A disconsolate Osaka said it hurts her to disappoint herself and her team, including coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who formerly coached Osaka’s tennis hero, Serena Williams.
Sharing that disappointment prompted Osaka to get emotional in press.
“I hate disappointing people,” Osaka said. “So, like, even with Patrick, I was thinking this just now, but he goes from working with, like, the greatest player ever to, like, What the f-ck this is? You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing, I hope don’t get fined, but..”
At that point, a tearful Osaka left the press conference for a bit and returned to answer a couple more questions.
Since her rousing run to her fourth major championship at the 2021 Australian Open, Osaka has played 11 majors and failed to survive the second round in eight of those 11 Grand Slam appearances.
Asked how this latest loss will strengthen her, Osaka replied “I hope you can tell me that.”
“I feel like I learn little things from each match,” Osaka added. “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 I’ll learn little things from today.”
