Naomi Osaka beat Zheng Saisai of China 6-1 6-4 in the first round of the women's singles competition in Tokyo; world No 1 Ashleigh Barty had a "really disappointing day" and lost in straight sets to Sara Sorribes Tormo at the Ariake Tennis Park
Sunday 25 July 2021 08:35, UK
Naomi Osaka made a successful return to competitive tennis after two months away, while world No 1 Ashleigh Barty suffered a shock exit in the first round of the women's singles competition in Tokyo.
Osaka, who was given the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony, defeated 52nd-ranked Zheng Saisai of China 6-1 6-4 in her first-round contest.
The 23-year-old last played a match eight weeks ago, before pulling out of the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships on account of protecting her mental health.
In contrast to Osaka's time away from the court, Barty arrived in Tokyo match-sharp off the back of securing a first Wimbledon title at the recent grass-court Grand Slam.
The Australian, who was making her Olympic debut, fell 6-4 6-3 to her 48th-ranked opponent Sara Sorribes Tormo and finished the match with a staggering 55 unforced errors.
The 25-year-old will now have to focus her attention on securing an Olympic medal in the doubles, alongside her partner Storm Sanders.
In May, Osaka said she would not be participating in post-match press conferences at Roland Garros in order to protect her mental health.
Following her announcement, there was a strong reaction from the Grand Slams and the 23-year-old ultimately took the decision to withdraw from the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. The Olympic Games remained on her schedule, though.
In an essay for a special issue of Time magazine ahead of the Games, Osaka shared more of her personal thoughts and further details about what she had been going through.
"When I said I needed to miss French Open press conferences to take care of myself mentally, I should have been prepared for what unfolded," she wrote.
"I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms - frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again.
"So, I ask the press for some level of privacy and empathy next time we meet. I do hope that people can relate and understand it's OK to not be OK, and it's OK to talk about it."
Following her first-round victory at the Ariake Tennis Park on Sunday, Osaka did stop to speak to the reporters who were present.
"More than anything else I'm just focused on playing tennis," she said.
"The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I feel like the break that I took was very needed. I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and I'm happy again."
"I feel a little bit out of my body right now," she added.
"There's nothing wrong with my body, I just felt really nervous. I haven't played since France so there were definitely some things that I did a bit wrong, but I think I can improve in the matches that I continue playing."
Despite being unhappy at some aspects of her performance, Osaka opened the contest with an ace down the 'T' and then surged into a five-love lead. In total, she produced six aces and 25 winners during the contest.
The 23-year-old will face the 50th-ranked Viktorija Golubic, a recent Wimbledon quarter-finalist, next.
The recent Wimbledon champion's assessment of her own first-round singles performance was that it was "pretty erratic" and overall it was a "really disappointing day".
Barty shared those thoughts on the Olympic Channel's broadcast following her shock loss to Sorribes Tormo, who she had never met in competition before.
In total, the Australian finished the match with 55 unforced errors and Sorribes Tormo showed both her form, and her tactical know-how, to produce the first major shock of the women's singles draw.
The Spanish player, who won her first career title in March, will face Fiona Ferro in the second round.
For Barty, her sole focus will now be on the doubles competition with Sanders. In the first round, the Australian pair needed just 50 minutes to prevail over Makoto Ninomiya and Nao Hibino 6-1 6-2.
Next, they'll face Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, before a potential third-round meeting with either the top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova or Sorribes Tormo and her partner Paula Badosa.
