Aryna Sabalenka Beats Naomi Osaka To Reach French Open Last Eight

PARIS, France (AFP) — Aryna Sabalenka moved into the French Open quarter-finals on Monday night, defeating Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in a meeting between two players with four Grand Slam titles each.

The world number one delivered a controlled performance against Osaka, who kept fighting throughout the contest, and secured a place in the last eight at a major for the 14th tournament in a row. Sabalenka is also now the lone Grand Slam champion remaining across both the men's and women's singles fields at Roland Garros.

"I'm mostly happy with the way I served and I was able to keep all the pressure on her," said Sabalenka. "I didn't expect I would serve that great… I feel like I'm getting better and better with every match I play and overall I'm super happy with how I played today."

The result gave Sabalenka her third win over Osaka this season. Osaka had won their only earlier encounter, which came at the 2018 US Open.

Sabalenka's next opponent will be Russia's Diana Shnaider as the Belarusian continues chasing a first French Open title. She is also trying to move past the disappointment of losing last year's final to Coco Gauff.

Osaka, the Japanese star who again wore the sequined gold outfit she had compared to the Eiffel Tower at night, saw her strongest Paris campaign finish in the round of 16.

Monday's contest was the first women's match placed in the French Open night session since 2023. Before that, 32 straight men's matches had been scheduled in the slot, bringing repeated criticism for tournament officials.