After lackluster clay court campaigns in Madrid and Rome, Naomi Osaka is now looking forward to making amends at this year’s Roland Garros. However, it won’t be an easy assignment for the Japanese tennis star, as she will be up against Lucia Bronzetti, who previously achieved a breakthrough in the 2023 season. So here’s what you need to know about Osaka’s upcoming Italian opponent’s competitive journey so far on the women’s tour.

Back in 2023, Bronzetti clinched her maiden WTA singles title at the Morocco Open, where she defeated the likes of Julia Grabher and Sloane Stephens in the later rounds. Even at the international tennis tournament, the United Cup, the Italian player delivered some stellar performances to help her country reach the championship game. For the first time in her competitive journey, Bronzetti made an appearance in the title match of a WTA tournament in 2022.

She reached the finals of the 2022 Palermo Ladies Open after overcoming some of the top guns, including Caroline Garcia, Wang Xiyu, and Jasmine Paolini. Bronzetti also made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2022 Australian Open as she defeated Nao Hibino and Valeria Savinykh in the qualifying rounds. This season, the 2023 Morocco Open champion reached the top 50 rankings for the first time in April, when she was ranked 46th on the WTA circuit.

Now that she will be starting her campaign at the Grand Slam in Paris, here’s a preview of Bronzetti’s performances during this clay-court swing season.

Lucia Bronzetti’s campaigns during the clay court season

The Italian player started the clay season with her participation in the Madrid and Italian Opens, where she faced initial round defeats. Even at the WTA Challenger event in Parma, Bronzetti tasted a first-round defeat at the hands of Zeynep Sonmez. She later entered the Morocco Open as the fourth seed and brushed aside players of high caliber to reach the quarterfinals.

In the initial round of matches, the former champion clinched two back-to-back straight-set wins as she outclassed Malak El Allami and Martina Trevisan. However, the Italian then failed to overcome her American opponent Peyton Stearns, who prevailed in a three-set thriller in the quarterfinals. In Paris, Bronzetti will now face the 4-time singles Grand Slam champion Osaka for the first time in her competitive journey with their H2H record currently locked at 0-0.

Do you think that the Italian tennis star can stun the former number 1 player on the clay courts of the Roland Garros? Let us know in the comments section.