Naomi Osaka revealed that her French Open battle versus Iga Swiatek gave her “confidence” she could compete on any surface – but has her sight set on a huge rankings leap back on her beloved hard courts.

Back at Roland Garros, the former world No 1 pushed Swiatek to the brink in a titanic round two clash, missing a match point in a three-set tussle.

Despite defeat, the four-time major winner admitted that that result gave her “confidence” for future tournaments on clay and also on grass, another surface she has struggled.

But, after returning to hard courts in Toronto, Osaka conceded she is looking forward to her favourite part of the season.

She said: “You know, that Iga match did wonders for my confidence, I’m not going to lie.

“I’m optimistically looking forward to clay next year. Grass, I’m looking at it from a distance, but I’m willing to learn, I’m going to watch a lot of tapes of Serena. That’s kind of a next-year thing.

“I think for me now I’m really focusing on US Open, Asia, that’s kind of the areas that I thrive, so I’m, I don’t know, looking forward to it.”

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Osaka’s Canadian Open campaign was mixed, beating Ons Jabeur heavily in round one before a loss to Elise Mertens.

She will now be in qualifying action at the Cincinnati Open this week, before returning to the US Open at the end of the month.

Two of her four Slams have come in New York and the other two came at the Australian Open, cementing her place as a leading hard-courter of her generation.

And she hopes that the lessons learnt from Toronto can power her through a strong summer – and ultimately back into the top 10 of the WTA Rankings at some point.

“Yeah, I mean, you know what, shoot for the stars,” added the 26-year-old.

“I, unfortunately, have always suffered from perfectionism and I doubt myself a lot, but I think going through this process and having really tough losses, I’ve learned a lot about myself and I learned that I really love this game, and am willing to do whatever it takes to get to where I feel like I deserve to be.

“I know there’s going to be a lot more tough losses, but hopefully I’ll be back in the top 10.

“I think playing Ons the other day and playing Mertens, I played two really quality opponents, they were both quite different, but I’m hoping that I’m able to establish my game and grow more confidence in that.

“I think the hard court for me is where I feel the most comfortable, and honestly, I had a lot of fun.”

Former US Open champion Naomi Osaka had quite a moment in Paris. She might not have had a long run at the Olympics, but her hard work was quite visible to her followers. While Osaka hasn’t shown an impressive performance this season, she is dedicated to making a change. Stalking the moves of talented Iga Swiatek, Osaka fuels excitement about her next performance in Canada. Is she trying her heart and soul for a victory?

Before starting her Canadian Open tour tomorrow, Osaka sat down for a press conference to delve into many important things such as her recent loss at the Paris Olympics, and the changing definition of success in her life. However, she surprised everyone by mentioning her reason for stalking her colleague and the world’s number one tennis player, Iga Swiatek. “Honestly, I was stalking Iga. I was like watching her practice at the Olympics and for me, that’s something I want to do more like watch the great players because there’s always something I can pick up on and I know she has one of the better footwork or probably the best footwork skills on the WTA so yeah I’m just trying to copy a little,” said Osaka.

The Japanese WTA star faced off against Swiatek in 2024 May during the French Open and lost. Before she played against the Polish tennis star, she praised Swiatek’s tennis skills. “I watched her a lot when I was pregnant. Honestly, I think it’s an honor to play her in the French Open because she’s won more than once here. It’s a very big honor and challenge for me,” said the Japanese former US Open champion. Naomi Osaka’s revelations expressed that she is hell bound to improvise her form and, for that, she is vested in seeking inspiration from the top WTA player.

On the other hand, Swiatek expressed her best wishes for Osaka last year. After Shai’s birth in July of last year, Osaka decided to return to her favorite sport and Swiatek seemed visibly happy about it.

Iga Swiatek was “happy” about Naomi Osaka’s decision to return to tennis post-child-birth

In an interview with The National News in December, Iga Swiatek expressed delight in hearing about her “friend” Naomi Osaka’s return to the court with a wildcard entry at the Australian Open tour. “Naomi, we may play against each other, so it is pretty funny, but I am happy she is back. I am curious if they are going to be rusty or not but, obviously, they are both really experienced and I hope they are going to do well,” Swiatek said.

During Swiatek’s match against Osaka at the Roland Garros second round, this Polish tennis star revealed how the latter put pressure on her. “I guess Naomi for sure, I didn’t have time to kind of get into it. It was just intense from the beginning and she put pressure on me, so I’m happy that I handled it well and after that, the weather changed also. So, it helps my game, I feel. I just gained confidence I would say,” she said.

Nevertheless, Naomi Osaka’s admiration for her colleague Iga Swiatek showed how tennis turns two opponents into friends. Despite rivalry, Swiatek and Osaka restore people’s faith in a positive professional bond.