Naomi Osaka’s honest reaction to playing Aryna Sabalenka French Open blockbuster at night

Naomi Osaka said she does not typically associate the French Open with night matches as she prepares to face Aryna Sabalenka in a rare women’s primetime match at Roland Garros on Monday.

The fourth-round showdown between the four-time Grand Slam champions will be the first women’s match scheduled in the French Open’s evening session since 2023, in part because the top half of the men’s draw features few household names. Since the tournament introduced one-match night sessions in 2021, only four of the first 60 primetime slots on Court Philippe Chatrier have featured women’s matches. The meeting between Sabalenka and Osaka will be the fifth, per Paul Battison of the BBC.

“I’m so used to not playing night matches here and playing night matches in the US Open or something like that that I don’t even associate this tournament with night matches,” Osaka said, as reported by the dpa, via ESPN.

The match between Osaka and Sabalenka ends a run of 33 straight men’s matches.

The Japanese star added that she had not expected her match to be considered for the evening session. She described herself as “pretty easy going” about scheduling and suggested night matches are often reserved for what she called “popcorn matches,” per Battison.

The topic of women’s representation in the French Open’s night sessions has been debated in recent years. Last year, Jessica Pegula said she felt like she was “hitting her head against the wall” discussing the issue, while Ons Jabeur questioned whether the decision-makers “have daughters.”

The discussion resurfaced this week when newly appointed WTA chief executive Valerie Camillo met with French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo. According to the WTA, Camillo emphasized that women’s tennis has produced some of the sport’s most exciting competition in recent years.

Mauresmo has previously defended the scheduling decisions by citing concerns that women’s matches can end more quickly than men’s contests. She has also maintained that the tournament will not expand night sessions to include two matches because of concerns about excessively late finishes.

Monday’s match will feature world No. 1 Sabalenka, who is seeking her first French Open title, against Osaka, the tournament’s No. 16 seed and a four-time major champion.

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