French Open: Naomi Osaka returns to Paris a year after quitting over mental health, with form, fitness in doubt
- The former world No 1 pulled out of last year’s event at Roland Garros ahead of the second round
- Osaka will be unseeded at a grand slam for the first time since the 2018 Australian Open
She had been threatened with expulsion and fined by organisers over her refusal to attend press conferences.
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Osaka then spent large parts of the remainder of the 2021 season off the court and has struggled this campaign with injury.
The Japanese star withdrew from last week’s Italian Open to rest an Achilles problem and try to regain full fitness for the grand slam tournament in Paris, where she will be unseeded at a major for the first time since the 2018 Australian Open.
The 24-year-old has slipped to 38th in the WTA rankings going into Sunday’s start of the French Open, but was as low as 78th in March.
Osaka showed she could still compete for the biggest titles the following week, reaching the Miami Open final – her first on the WTA Tour since the 2021 Australian Open – before losing to world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
