The official draw for the Saint-Malo tournament has been released, confirming Naomi Osaka`s first-round opponent as 19-year-old Croatian Petra Marcinko. Based on the seeding, Osaka could potentially meet No. 6 seed Olivia Gadecki in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seed Caroline Dolehide in the semifinals. The top half of the bracket features other notable players, such as the top seed McCartney Kessler, No. 7 seed Viktorija Golubic, and promising French junior Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has accepted a wild card entry into next week`s L`Open 35 de Saint-Malo, marking her first appearance at a WTA 125 level event in ten years.
Tournament organizers announced Osaka`s late inclusion via social media on Thursday, stating that the former World No. 1 is poised to make a significant impact in her debut at the event.
This decision follows a period of intensive clay court training in France with her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. During this training, she reportedly told the Tennis Majors website that she felt “stronger” and prepared “to grind it out.” However, her recent match play resulted in a first-round exit at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday, where she was defeated by Italy`s Lucia Bronzetti in three sets. This was her first match in a month, having previously lost in the fourth round of the Miami Open to Paolini.
According to WTA regulations, players ranked outside the Top 10 (specifically, No. 11 or lower) are permitted to enter a WTA 125 tournament during the second week of a Grand Slam or mandatory WTA 1000 event, provided they have already been eliminated from the higher-tier tournament.
Osaka`s only prior experience at a WTA 125 event was in November 2015, where she finished as runner-up in Hua Hin, Thailand, as an 18-year-old ranked No. 203. Her decision to return to this level is aimed at gaining more consistent competitive matches, particularly on clay, a surface she has openly acknowledged as needing further development.
This season, Osaka holds a match record of 9-5 overall, but her performance since January has been less consistent (3-3). This period includes retirements due to an abdominal injury in both the ASB Classic final against Clara Tauson and the Australian Open fourth round against Belinda Bencic.
The main draw matches in Saint-Malo are scheduled to commence on Monday. With her current ranking of No. 55, Osaka is anticipated to be the second seed, positioned behind No. 53 Alycia Parks. The tournament field also includes top seed Varvara Gracheva, American players Caroline Dolehide and Katie Volynets, and former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria.
Since the Saint-Malo event was upgraded to WTA 125 status in 2021, previous winners include notable players like Beatriz Haddad Maia and Sloane Stephens. Jasmine Paolini was the runner-up in the first edition at this level.
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth