Following weeks of debate surrounding the French Open’s scheduling bias, Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka finally broke the three-year drought of women’s prime-time night sessions at Roland-Garros. In a highly competitive fourth-round clash, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka secured a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the four-time Grand Slam champion, punching her ticket to the quarter-finals.
However, despite the loss and their complicated history off the court, Osaka had nothing but praise for both her opponent and the tournament’s decision to finally give two women the marquee slot.
After Losing to Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka Opens Up On Historic Night Match at French Open
The last time a women’s match received the primetime night-session slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier before this was exactly three years ago, during the 2023 tournament. That match also featured Sabalenka, who defeated America’s Sloane Stephens.
In her post-match press conference, a journalist pointed that out, and the historic stat led to a candid moment. “I don’t know if you know this, but this was the first women’s match to be scheduled in the night session here for 3 years. I just wondered what your reaction was to finding out your match was scheduled in the night session?”
Osaka: “What was the match before this one?”
Journalist: “Sabalenka Stephens.”
Osaka: “Oh, like Sloane?”
Journalist: “Yeah.”
Osaka: “I’m so sorry that was a dumb question. God damn.”
Osaka also reflected on her experience playing beneath the lights of Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“For me, I thought it was really cool. Obviously, she’s really good for tennis. I would hope I’m okay for tennis too. Honestly, it was really fun to play,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said.
“The last time I remember playing like a semi-night match here was obviously against Iga(Świątek.) I was told it wasn’t the official night match. I’m honored that the tournament chose us to play in this slot. I hope that going forward they’ll continue to do so.” The match Osaka is referring to was a second-round battle at the 2024 French Open.
Sabalenka completely agreed with her rival on the scheduling breakthrough. With the win, Sabalenka improved her record to a flawless 3-0 against Osaka this season, after already having defeated the Japanese star at both Indian Wells and the Madrid Open earlier in 2026.
“If they would come back to me and ask, ‘Would you like to play night session?’ I would say, ‘Yes, definitely yes.’ The atmosphere was really cool.”
She did, however, add a caveat about the Grand Slam scheduling:
“But at the same time, I have nothing against playing the first match or second match, because then you have more time to rest and to recover.”
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The historic clash between Sabalenka and Osaka delivered exactly what Roland-Garros organizers should be looking for in a night session. For two of the sport’s biggest stars, playing highly entertaining tennis is nothing new. As Osaka noted, “Shout-out to the tournament for trusting us. I hope it was entertaining for people.”
Up next, in the quarterfinals, Sabalenka will face Diana Shnaider, who defeated Madison Keys in the fourth round. Meanwhile, Osaka will shift focus to the Wimbledon preparation.
