Italian Open: Osaka continues her momentum from Saint-Malo

Naomi Osaka won against Sara Errani 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday and will play No 9 seed Paula Badosa in the next round

Naomi Osaka, Roma 2025, first round

Cédric Rouquette

May 7, 2025

Internazionali BNL d'Italia •First round • Completed

See draw

S. ErranivsN. Osaka

Japanese player Naomi Osaka comfortably defeated Italian wildcard Sara Errani (6-2, 6-3) to qualify for the second round of the Italian Open at the Foro Italico on Wednesday morning.

Osaka, who won her first clay court title at the WTA 125 in Saint-Malo last Sunday, showed much more confidence in her clay-court game than in her opening-round loss at the WTA 1000 in Madrid two weeks ago against Bronzetti.

Errani, a clay-court specialist, tried to neutralize Osaka by offering high, topspin-heavy shots that were difficult to accelerate and could have led the Japanese player to lose patience or focus, as seen in Spain.

Osaka’s low percentage

However, Osaka aimed to take the initiative from the very first shot of each rally whenever possible and maintained good length on her shots throughout the 79-minute match, despite conceding two breaks and struggling with her first serve percentage, which is so crucial to her efficiency (45%).

Osaka managed to hit 40 winners in 17 games, a truly impressive number.

By breaking Errani’s serve five times — a known weakness for the Italian — Osaka set the stage for a relatively trouble-free victory, notably winning five consecutive games in the second set to come back from 1-3 to 6-3. Errani had three chances to go up 4-2 in the second set but managed to win just three of the last 17 points after failing to convert the break.

Osaka, currently ranked 48th in the world by the WTA, will face No. 9 seed Paula Badosa in the second round of the Italian tournament, though the Spaniard’s participation is uncertain due to a back injury.