Revival of epic rivalries in women’s tennis! On Wednesday (May 29), the current world number one tennis star, Iga Swiatek survived a major scare at the hands of the former world number one, Naomi Osaka, in the R2 of the 2024 French Open. Osaka appeared at her second Grand Slam event after giving birth to her daughter, Shai in July last year. Oh, boy! Forget about any rustiness, she made the defending champion earn each of her points in her 7-6(1),1-6,7-5 victory in that match. Osaka quite rightly showcased her disappointment after losing the match, but she has also thrown a challenge to the best in business. But this time on her own surface!

Own surface? Well, she tried to indicate the hard courts. Naomi Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles so far in her career and all four of them have come on hard courts (2 US Open + 2 AO). On the other hand, Iga Swiatek has also won four major titles, but out of her four titles, three have come in the French Open itself. Here’s what Naomi Osaka said after the match, “I cried when I got off the court but I’m good now. I was watching Iga winning this tournament last year when I was pregnant. And it was my dream just to play her. I think I did pretty well against her on her surface, I wanna play her on hard courts, my surface.” 

Well, currently Iga Swiatek leads the H2H with Osaka by a 2-1 margin. But this match has set the tone for the rest of the season now. She has now not just Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff but also Naomi Osaka as her major rival in the hard court seasons. Even for the defending champion of the US Open (Coco Gauff), this has now become an open challenge for her prestigious crown.

Osaka has sent a clear warning to all of them and made her 2024 US Open intentions pretty much clear! She added, “Also, I said in Australia that I’m kind of setting myself up for September anyway, so…” (The rivalry continues…). But did you know the ‘Queen of Clay’ was pretty much surprised to see Naomi Osaka’s clay court prowess in the R2 clash?

Iga Swiatek didn’t expect such a high level of intensity in her second-round match against Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is currently ranked 134th in the world and she has a win-loss record of 12-9 this season. However, these numbers don’t quite give justice to the brand of tennis she has showcased just recently in Paris. She drew praise from Iga Swiatek just after the match. “It’s much more intense for the second round than I ever expected. Naomi played amazing tennis, sometimes risking a lot. Maybe she’s gonna be a clay court specialist. I’m happy that she’s back and she’s playing well,” said the Polish tennis star.

Although clay courts aren’t on the list of her favorite surfaces, Swiatek believes Osaka played some exceptional shots in that match. She went on to add, “Even she says that she’s not playing the best tennis on clay. So I’m not expecting anything before [this match], but her shots were really clean and really heavy today.”

Irrespective of the surface, Naomi Osaka has yet again proved why there is a famous saying, ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent!‘ Osaka’s comeback is bliss to her fans. But at the same time, it’s a sign of a big worry for players like Swiatek, Gauff, and Sabalenka. Share your thoughts on this epic second-round match at the French Open.