The draw for the Saint-Malo tournament is now finalized. Naomi Osaka is scheduled to compete against 19-year-old Croatian player Petra Marcinko in her first match. Based on the draw, she could potentially play the No. 6 seed Olivia Gadecki in the quarterfinals and the No. 4 seed Caroline Dolehide in the semifinals. Other notable players in the top section of the draw include the No. 1 seed McCartney Kessler, No. 7 seed Viktorija Golubic, and the promising young French player Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has accepted a wild card entry into next week`s L`Open 35 de Saint-Malo, marking her first participation in a WTA 125 level tournament in a decade.
Tournament organizers made the announcement on Thursday via a social media post, confirming Osaka`s late addition and expressing anticipation that the former World No. 1 will make a significant impact in her debut appearance at the event.
Osaka recently completed an extensive training block on clay courts in France alongside her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, where she reported feeling physically stronger and prepared for challenging matches. However, her recent return to competition at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open resulted in a first-round loss in three sets to Italy`s Lucia Bronzetti on Tuesday. This marked her first match in a month, following a fourth-round defeat at the Miami Open against Paolini.
WTA rules permit players ranked No. 11 or lower to participate in a WTA 125 event held concurrently with the second week of a Grand Slam or mandatory WTA 1000 tournament, provided they have already been eliminated from the larger competition.
Osaka`s only previous appearance at a WTA 125 tournament was in November 2015 in Hua Hin, Thailand, where she finished as the runner-up. At that time, she was 18 years old and ranked No. 203. Her decision to re-enter a tournament at this level is aimed at gaining more consistent match experience, particularly on clay, a surface she is still working to master.
This season, Osaka holds a match record of 9 wins and 5 losses. Her performance has been limited since January, with a 3-3 record, following an abdominal injury that caused her to withdraw from the finals of the ASB Classic and the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Main draw matches in Saint-Malo are set to commence on Monday. Ranked No. 55, Osaka is expected to be seeded No. 2, behind No. 53 Alycia Parks. The tournament field also includes top seed Varvara Gracheva, American players Caroline Dolehide and Katie Volynets, and former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria.
Since its upgrade to WTA 125 status in 2021, the Saint-Malo tournament has seen champions such as Beatriz Haddad Maia and Sloane Stephens. Jasmine Paolini was the finalist in the inaugural 2021 edition.
