Naomi Osaka has come through her opening round at Roland Garros relatively unscathed, despite facing what looked like a tricky first opponent.
In all honesty, nobody wants to see Laura Siegemund as their opener for a Grand Slam tournament.
After all, the 38-year-old is crafty, unorthodox and highly frustrating, specialising in winding her foes up with any tactic she deems necessary.
Even Naomi Osaka, who is usually so composed and calm, fell victim to these tricks today, as she complained to seemingly anyone who would listen about her opponent.
Naomi Osaka complains to umpire about Laura Siegemund
It was dring the second set was where Osaka’s frustrations really bubbled over, resulting in the Japanese tennis star complaining not only to her team but also to the umpire.
Given Siegemund had already received a warning, and has a history of gamesmanship beyond just this Roland Garros first round match, this should come as no real surprise.
What could stop Naomi Osaka from winning a Grand Slam title in 2026?
Credit: Sofascore
In fact, one commentator who was overseeing the match on TNT Sport’s live broadcast actually overheard what Osaka said to her team about the German.
She recalled: “It sounded like she was talking [to her box] about Siegemund’s serve. She said it takes about 20 minutes for her to serve one ball. It’s starting to get to her. Obviously had that time violation already.”
Given the fact that even Alex Eala complained about Siegemund during their match earlier this year, it’s clear that she has quite the reputation across the WTA Tour.
What other players have complained about Laura Siegemund?
As noted earlier, Siegemund has quite the reputation for bending the rules of tennis. She has seemingly done it throughout her entire career.
As a consequence of that, many players have complained about her over the years, from Eala to Coco Gauff and now Osaka.
The Filipina star did so during their Miami Open match earlier this year, claiming: “Can you watch her time, because many times she’s delaying. She stopped the point. I was about to serve, and she turned around.”
Who will win the Roland Garros Women’s Singles title?
Eala went on to win that match.
Then, back in 2023, Siegemund actually took aim at the US Open crowd for treating her ‘like a cheater’ as she faced Gauff.
The young American kept her cool though, although the fans did not; they shouted out every time the serve clock hit 0.
Gauff, afterwards, said: “I was really patient the whole match. She was going over the time since the first set. I never said anything. I would look at the umpire, and she didn’t do anything.”
