Naomi Osaka was present on Court Phillipe Chatrier for the “Gael and Friends” event, which Roland Garros organized to commemorate the farewell of Gael Monfils. On media day, the former World No.1 paid a nice compliment to the veteran Frenchman, praising the role he has played over the years in making the sport accessible to black players worldwide, especially in France. Osaka also mentioned the Williams sisters as individuals who inspired her in her sporting journey.

When asked in the press why she considered Monfils a GOAT, Osaka candidly replied that diversity and inclusion in sports are important to her, while she had the example of the Williams sisters on the women’s side, it was the likes of Monfils and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who were leading the charge for black male players in the sport. Talking about Monfils in the press conference, she said, “Seeing representation is so important. I had Serena and Venus, and on the men’s side, I looked up to him and Tsonga. There is a wave of black French guys coming up, so I guess he really inspired a lot of people.”

Osaka is not wrong to say that Monfils has been an inspiration to black tennis players in France. The upcoming French Open will see the likes of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Arthur Fils ply their trade in front of packed crowds. While Perricard has the blockbuster opening-round encounter against Novak Djokovic, it will be interesting to see whether Fils can make a deep run at his home Slam after withdrawing from the event last year due to injury. Also, there is the added attraction of Moise Kouame, the 16-year-old who will make his Roland Garros debut, having received a wildcard for the main draw.

Advocating for inclusion in sports and speaking out against racism have been hallmarks of Osaka’s character. The Japanese star has chosen the sport’s biggest stage to send her messages, as was seen during the 2020 US Open, where she wore masks in support of black people who had lost their lives. She has been a strong supporter of social movements like Black Lives Matter. She has often spoken about other social issues, such as environmental protection and speaking against the use of AI in everyday life.

However, while talking about her tournament prospects, the four-time Major champion was circumspect, stating that she hoped to outperform her career best results at Roland Garros.

“Hopefully We Can Go Further”- Naomi Osaka on Her French Open Expectations

When asked about her self-assessment during the clay-court season, Osaka was unsure whether to label her performances good or bad. Coming into the French Open, the Japanese star played in Madrid and Rome, where her performances had a similar pattern. In both events, she started strong, winning her first couple of matches, but faltered against the top-ranked players. She lost to Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set match in Madrid. In contrast, she was absolutely blown away by Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open, where she managed to win only three games against the Polish player.

However, Osaka was still looking to take some positives from the Swiatek mauling, as she felt she was close in a few games. “The score was wild, but it was a little bit closer, like there were a lot of 40 deuce games or whatever.”

Osaka was also determined to change her image as a great hardcourt player by improving her performances on natural surfaces such as clay and grass, and that is what she aimed to do with her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. “So yeah, um, I think a lot of people know me for being a really good hardcourt player, and I hope I can eventually start doing better on the other surfaces too. And I talked with Tomas, and he said it’s crazy that I’ve only been to the third round here. So hopefully we can go further this year,” she added.

Osaka built her career as one of the best hardcourt players of her generation. All four of her Grand Slam titles have come on the hard courts, whereas she has not made it past the third round at either the French Open or Wimbledon. If she has to make a deep run at Roland Garros this year, the draw is not easy for her, as she has a potential fourth-round match against the top-seeded Sabalenka.