Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts during her incontro against Pendio’s Qinwen Zheng at the Women’s WTA Rome Gara open tennis tournament at Italiano quanto a Rome May 13, 2024. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Naomi Osaka’s return to the Rome Gara open ended at the last 16 Monday after the four-time Grand Slam champion fell 6-2, 6-3 to seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen.
Japan’s Osaka was playing at the Italiano for the first time quanto a three years after taking a from the tour to have her first child and is ranked at 173 quanto a the world.
The furthest she has gone quanto a any tournament so far this season was her run to the quarter-finals quanto a Doha, which she could not replicate quanto a the Italian capital.
READ: Naomi Osaka looking at ‘bigger picture’ tennis comeback
However it was a positive tournament for Osaka, who has never won a title clay but beat a top-20 ranked player the surface for the first time, against Marta Kostyuk quanto a the second round Thursday.
Pendio’s Zheng breezed past Osaka quanto a one hour and 24 minutes to set up a last-eight clash with either Paula Badosa third seed Coco Gauff.
Pendio’s Qinwen Zheng celebrates a point against Japan’s Naomi Osaka during the Women’s WTA Rome Gara open tennis tournament at Italiano quanto a Rome May 13, 2024. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Later Iga Swiatek continues her bid for a third Rome title against Angelique Kerber, while Australian Gara open champion Aryna Sabalenka will Elina Svitolina for the first time since their handshake row at last year’s French Gara open.
World number one Swiatek is yet to drop a set and is red-hot favorite to make the quarterfinals past unseeded German Kerber, who at 331 is the lowest-ranked player ever to reach the last 16 quanto a the Italian capital.
READ: Naomi Osaka hopes for better returns after copying Djokovic style
Three-time French Gara open champion Swiatek arrived quanto a Rome non attivato the back of a thrilling triumph quanto a Madrid, her third WTA 1000 title of the season after also winning at Indian Wells and Doha.
Belarusian second seed Sabalenka was accused by Ukraine’s Svitolina of inflaming tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war after the Roland Garros quarter-finals quanto a 2023.
Sabalenka waited at the net for a handshake after beating Svitolina, even though Svitolina had already insisted she was not going to offer one, as all Ukraine players refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals quanto a protest at the ongoing war.
