Naomi Osaka will play Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster fourth round match at Roland Garros.
Osaka has reached the fourth round of Roland Garros for the first time in her career after beating 17th seed Iva Jovic.
It will not get any easier now for Osaka, who will play Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
Sabalenka has praised Osaka ahead of their upcoming match, but former world number five Jimmy Arias believes there is a clear favourite to win.
Jimmy Arias explains why Aryna Sabalenka has the ‘advantage’ against Naomi Osaka
Arias and WTA player Allie Kiick previewed the upcoming match between Sabalenka and Osaka for Tennis Channel.
When looking ahead to the encounter between the two Grand Slam champions, Arias highlighted the issue for Osaka of Sabalenka being more powerful than her, as well as the current world number one being a better mover on clay.
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“Both of these players are trying to impose their will on their opponents,” said Arias. “They’re the ones that are trying to dictate, they’re the more powerful players against almost everyone they play.
“The problem for Osaka is, I think, Sabalenka is maybe slightly more powerful and does move a little bit better than Osaka does on this surface.
“So it’s advantage Sabalenka, and it especially makes you a little worried for Osaka when her great year, when she won the US Open, as you mentioned, and Sabalenka wasn’t yet Sabalenka in 2018, and that was the toughest match Osaka has.
“So it just shows you that the matchup is not great for Osaka. She’s gonna have to come with something special to get through that match.”
Kiick also expressed her concerns for Osaka ahead of this matchup, explaining that Sabalenka can rush her forehand in particular.
“I mean, we saw the last couple matches Sabalenka did win those, and I think what Sabalenka can do against Osaka that’s so few players can do is match her with her serve,” said Kiick. “And that’s something that Sabalenka has been doing very well in this tournament thus far as well as Osaka is just serving well.
“And I think once you can put that pressure back on Osaka, that makes things really difficult. She’s also able, Sabalenka, to rush that Osaka forehand, which can really get very late, but you have to have so much pace and so few players are able to do that, and that’s why I think we’ve seen Sabalenka get the best of Osaka in those last two matchups.”
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Aryna Sabalenka vs Naomi Osaka Head-to-Head
Sabalenka and Osaka will contest their fourth meeting at Roland Garros this year, with the former leading their head-to-head 2-1.
After not playing each other for eight years, Sabalenka and Osaka will now play their third match at the Paris major, with all of their previous meetings taking place in the round of 16, as it will again at Roland Garros.
Sabalenka has beaten Osaka both previous times they have played this year, including a three set battle on the clay of Madrid last month.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2018 | US Open (R16) | Osaka beat Sabalenka, 6-3 2-6 6-4 |
| 2026 | Indian Wells (R16) | Sabalenka beat Osaka, 6-2 6-4 |
| 2026 | Madrid Open (R16) | Sabalenka beat Osaka, 6(1)-7 6-3 6-2 |
Osaka will be hoping to get her first win over Sabalenka since the 2018 US Open, where she won the title, at Roland Garros.
Their upcoming match will take place on Monday, June 1, with Osaka playing Sabalenka in the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
