Very worried, says Naomi Osaka on returning to French Open
May 21, 2022
Paris [France], May 21 : Ahead of the clash with America's Amanda Anisimova in the first round of the French Open on Monday, former No.1 Naomi Osaka said that she's "ok" with attending press conferences, but was "very worried" about returning, a year after her controversial withdrawal from the tournament.
Back in 2021, Naomi Osaka backed out of the French Open, after the incident she was fined 15,000 dollars. The four-time Grand Slam champion withdrew 12 months ago and said she had been suffering from depression.
"For the most part, I think I'm ok. I'm not going to lie. When I first came here, I was very worried. I was just kind of worried if there would be people that -- of course, I also didn't like how I handled the situation -- but I was worried that there were people that I offended in some way, and I would just kind of bump into them," said Naomi Osaka in a pre-tournament presser.
Osaka picked up Achilles' injury in her first-round match in Madrid Open which contributed to her second-round loss against Sara Sorribes Tormo and subsequent withdrawal from Rome.
"For me, there is no way I'm not going to play this tournament," said Osaka.
"So of course you kind of have to manage things, but at the same time, I'm going to pop a few painkillers. It is what it is," she added.
"I have actually played a lot of Grand Slams with something. In Australia, when I played Kvitova, for five matches I had this really bad back thing. So I think maybe there is a possibility I could play really good when I have an injury because I feel like I don't have anything to lose," said Osaka.
Osaka is set to lock horns with World No.7 America's Amanda Anisimova in the first round match on Monday. Osaka has won the US Open and Australian Open two times each but is yet to taste victory at French Open.
