Favourites, Williams, Osaka crash out of French Open

The grand slam ambitions of the top two favourties of the women’s game ended in disappointment on Saturday at Roland Garross, with Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka sent packing.

World number one, Naomi Osaka’s bid for a third straight Grand Slam ended at the hands of unseeded Czech Katerina Siniakova at the French Open.

Osaka, 21, lost 6-4 6-2 to the world number 42 in their third-round match, with the Japanese top seed making 38 unforced errors as she lost in one hour and 17 minutes at Roland Garros.

“It is incredible, it is something I can’t believe, I’m so happy,” Siniakova said after reaching the last 16 of a Grand Slam singles for the first time.

The 23-year-old right-hander is ranked as the world’s leading women’s doubles player and won that competition at the French Open last year alongside fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

Siniakova will play 14th seed Madison Keys for a place in the quarter-finals after the American came through a testing encounter with 20-year-old Russian Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.

Osaka, who followed up her maiden Grand Slam win at September’s US Open with victory at the Australian Open in January, was playing in her first major as the top seed.

Despite her shock defeat, she will remain world number one after nearest challengers Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber and Kiki Bertens also made early exits.

On her own, Serena Williams lost in a surprising upset on Saturday to American player, 20-year-old Sofia Kenin who beat the tennis legend in a 6-2, 7-5 upset

The defeat, according to ESPN, marked Williams’ earliest loss at a major tournament in five years, since 2014’s Wimbledon.

“She played really well,” the 37-year-old Williams, said of Kenin after the match, adding: “I feel like she, in that first set in particular, hit pretty much inches from the line. I hadn’t played anyone like that in a long time… She just played, literally, unbelievable. She really went out there today and did great.”

The 23-time Grand Slam winner has previously won the French Open on three occasions: in 2002, 2013 and 2015.

Despite her early exit, Williams would be remembered for another fashion statement at this year’s tournament, one year after wearing the all-black catsuit that was banned from the tennis court in 2018.

Upon arrival to the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, the mother of one sported a jacket that read the words “Champion,” “Queen,” “Goddess” and “Mother” in French.

And for her matches, the tennis star wore a matching two-piece ensemble from a Nike collaboration with designer Virgil Abloh.

“Let the Roland Garros begin. Here is my French Open look designed by @virgilabloh and @nike,” she wrote on Instagram ahead of the tournament, sharing photos of her crop top, skirt, and jacket.