Naomi Osaka secured safe passage into the second round of the French Open yesterday, defeating Laura Siegemund in straight sets.
When the draw was released, many winced as they saw who the former world number one would be facing.
After all, few want to see the 38-year-old next to their name, given her penchant for winding up opponents with her wily shots and gamesmanship.
At times, this did threaten to derail Naomi Osaka’s match, but she kept a level head to claim an impressive win.
Speaking afterwards, she did discuss the match, but also weighed in on an age-old debate regarding the majors.
Naomi Osaka claims she’d thrive playing best-of-five set matches
Given the fact that Osaka had complained about Siegemund during their clash, it was disappointing to see her not pressed on that flashpoint in her press conference.
Although, for the German, this is nothing new. She is renowned across the WTA Tour for her antics.
Do you like Naomi Osaka’s desire to create new outfits at Grand Slams or is it a distraction? 👀
Osaka was instead asked for her thoughts on women potentially playing best-of-five set matches, to which she seemed receptive.
The former world number one claimed: “You know. I’m neutral on it.
“Like, I think, ironically, it would be good for me because I’m pretty, like, stable the longer the matches get.
“I would be pretty interested to see, like, if people sustain injuries and, like, the logistics of all of that.
“I understand it’s a pretty entertaining topic talking point, but I kind of want to see what happens if people dive deeper into that.”
Siegemund took issue with Osaka’s outfit during their match as well, in what seems like a match filled with animosity, but in reality was quite calm.
What have other players said about women playing best-of-five set matches?
Osaka is not the first, and nor will she be the last to offer her thoughts on this timeless conversation.
After all, it has been suggested that women could play best of five sets at the Australian Open as early as next year.
Coco Gauff has highlighted one problem this might cause though, arguing: “If all of us were going five sets, I don’t even think we would be able to finish within the two weeks, to be honest.”
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
Iga Swiatek echoed those issues, adding: “I think honestly it’s a weird approach in the world where everything is becoming faster, you know.
“So I don’t know if the audience honestly would like that. Also, like, I don’t know if we would be able to keep the quality for five sets.”
As a huge advocate for the women’s game, Andy Murray also spoke about women playing best-of-five-set matches in 2023.
