Naomi Osaka beaten in first round in Rouen on clay return

NEW DELHI: Naomi Osaka , a four-time Grand Slam champion, faced a surprising defeat in the first round of the WTA event in Rouen on Wednesday, succumbing 6-4, 6-2 to Italian Martina Trevisan .

This marked Osaka's first appearance on clay since the 2022 French Open , where she exited in the opening round while Trevisan reached the semifinals.

After returning to action in January following a 15-month hiatus from the tour due to maternity leave, the former world number one expressed her desire to compete in the Paris Olympics . However, she might need to undergo an appeals process due to her failure to meet the mandatory requirement of two appearances for Japan in the Billie Jean King Cup during the current Games cycle.

Since her comeback, Osaka's world ranking has climbed from 831 to 192, yet she has not progressed beyond the quarter-finals in any of the seven tournaments she has participated in.

In the match against Trevisan, Osaka struggled to capitalize on her break chances, converting only one out of eight opportunities in the opening set. Despite a resilient effort, Trevisan claimed victory by breaking Osaka twice in the second set, securing her second win in nine tour-level matches this year.

Trevisan's next challenge will be Ukrainian third seed Anhelina Kalinina in the last 16.

(With AFP inputs)