Naomi Osaka next tournament: All you need to know about the Japanese's schedule after Madrid Open heartbreak
Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan, made a very disappointing start to her campaign in European clay swing. She lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in the first round of the Madrid Open. It was a disastrous result for the 27-year-old, who has not won a tournament since 2021.
Osaka has now decided to accept a wildcard for L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo, which is a WTA 125 tournament played in Saint-Malo, France. It is a relatively new tournament that became a part of the WTA circuit in 2021. It will offer her less ranking points and is a relatively less prestigious tournament for a player of her stature. However, Osaka has decided to keep her ego aside and take part in that tournament.
Alycia Parks of the United States will also participate in that tournament and should be the top seed in it. Osaka should be the second seed, with Varvara Gracheva following her. It gives the Japanese a realistic chance of winning the tournament, and more importantly, get some match practice on the surface ahead of the Italian Open and French Open.
Naomi Osaka drew Iga Swiatek, the eventual winner of the French Open, mighty close in the second round of the 2024 French Open. Swiatek saved a match point before beating the Japanese. Osaka has a couple of tournaments to prepare for the Grand Slam at Roland Garros, assuming that she will play at the Italian Open in Rome in May.
Naomi Osaka has had a decent season so far in 2025:
Naomi Osaka finished as the runner-up at the ASB Classic in Auckland in January 2025, losing to Clara Tauson in the final. She then reached the third round of the Australian Open and lost to Belinda Bencic. However, she had a disappointing time at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing in the very first round.
Osaka then reached the round of 16 of the Miami Open before losing to Jasmine Paolini, the sixth seed. She has now suffered yet another reversal in the first round of the Madrid Open.
Naomi Osaka will get a chance to revive her career in Saint-Malo by winning or at least reaching the final of the tournament. Lois Boisson won the title there in 2024 and should take part in this year's tournament, too.
Boisson recently lost in the opening round of Open de Rouen but might be another opponent Osaka should be wary of. Overall, the Japanese should enjoy the challenge of another tournament on clay on European soil.