Just before her opening-round match at the French Open, Coco Gauff experienced a “mini car accident” while being driven to the venue. During the impact, she even spilled her juice inside the car, though she later laughed it off and called it a good omen, especially after going on to win her first-round match against Taylor Townsend.

However, just a day later, Naomi Osaka revealed a far more alarming incident. In her post-match press conference following her second-round win over Donna Vekić, the four-time Grand Slam champion said that the car she was traveling in was hit by a bus, and unlike Gauff’s light-hearted scare, this was far from a minor mishap.

“Yes, we had a little accident two days ago. I wasn’t afraid for my life, but I did think: ‘Wow, this bus is really crushing our car.’ You could clearly hear the car breaking as it kept pushing us. The weirdest part was that the bus kept moving forward and forward. For a moment, I even thought it was going to flip our car completely,” Osaka said.  

Later, the Japanese pro added that although the incident was dangerous, she managed to stay calm throughout. “I realized that in dangerous situations, I don’t really panic. I just think very slowly: ‘Okay, this is happening.’”

In fact, when she walked on the court to take on Donna Vekic for the second round match, she did not show any sign of weakness. Osaka advanced to the third round of the French Open for the first time since 2019, defeating Donna Vekic in straight sets, even after the traumatizing incident. 

“Mentally, I am very different even compared to last year. Last year, I used to get very stressed when the matches were tight. I would quite panic and struggle a lot to handle those moments,” she admitted. 

Interestingly, when Osaka returned to the tour last year after a 15-month paternity break, she opened up about the emotional challenges she was going through. The former World No. 1 spoke about dealing with postpartum depression and often feeling guilt over time spent away from her daughter.

But stepping back on court also gave her something important: a renewed sense of purpose and identity beyond sleepless nights and maternal guilt, helping her reconnect with herself through the game she loves.

“Now I just try to play point by point. I am quite at peace with the idea of losing as long as I feel I gave absolutely everything and made the match as difficult as possible for my opponent,” Osaka added.

The Japanese star will now face Iva Jovic in her third-round clash at Roland Garros. And while Naomi Osaka managed to move past a rather unsettling incident on her way to the venue, Coco Gauff’s earlier car mishap, which involved her vehicle hitting a pole, was comparatively minor, though it still caused quite a bit of chaos in the moment.