Naomi Osaka might have had limited success on the clay so far in her career but it isn’t stopping the former world No.1 from setting out big goals. 

The four-time Grand Slam winner recorded her first win on the surface in two years at the Madrid Open on Wednesday where she beat Greet Minnen 6-4, 6-1, in the first round. Osaka didn’t play any tournaments on clay last season after taking time away from the Tour to give birth to her first child. 

Since returning to the Tour in January, the 26-year-old has won eight out of 15 matches played with her best result being a run to the quarter-finals in Doha. However, Osaka is confident that she is heading in the right direction. 

“I slid a couple of times to my forehand pretty well, so I was excited about that,” she told reporters after beating Minnen. “She was hitting really good drop shots, but I think I got to a couple quite well. Movement-wise I’m feeling a lot more comfortable.”

Despite her various successes, Osaka has yet to reach a WTA final on the clay and at the French Open she has never got past the third round. The last time she reached a semi-final of the surface was back in 2019 at the Stuttgart Open. 

“I want to adapt and I’m trying to, but there are things that work for me and have gotten me to where I am, so I don’t want to start slicing and dicing,” she continued.
“There’s a basis to my game and I want to stick to that, but also respect the court. It’s a work in progress for me, but I’m watching a lot more matches on clay. I’m trying to do my homework as best as I can.”

This year Osaka has an extra incentive to focus on her clay game with this year’s Olympic Games taking place at the same venue as the French Open. She has described the four-year event as a ‘big goal’ of hers. 

She has beaten two top 20 players so far this season with one of those being Liudmila Samsonova who she will play again in the second round in Madrid. Although she is hungry for more.

“I would like to win a tournament on clay, I would think it’s very ironic but also hilarious if my first tournament (win back from maternity leave) would be clay,” Osaka commented. 
“For me, every tournament I play I want to win. I know that results so far haven’t shown that but I really think that something’s going to click eventually and when it does, I think I’ll be really good.
“But for right now, I’m just going to be as humble as I can. I’m happy to be in this tournament, I’m happy to be playing against the best players in the world and I learn from them every day.”

This year is Osaka’s sixth appearance in Madrid. Her best result was reaching the quarter-finals in 2019. 

Emma Raducanu showed a lack of willingness during her first round match at the Madrid Open, according to the head of her country’s Billie Jean King Cup team. 

The former US Open champion suffered a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2, defeat to world No.82 María Lourdes Carlé. The loss is Raducanu’s heaviest of the season so far in terms of games won. In the first set alone, the Brit hit just two winners compared to 19 unforced errors. Overall, she won only 14% (2/14) of her second service points and 46% (12/26) of her first. 

Reflecting on her performance afterwards, Raducanu admitted that she was feeling the effects of what has been a busy past couple of weeks. She helped her country beat France in the Billie Jean King Cup where she defeated Carolina Garcia. Then last week in Stuttgart she recorded two impressive victories over Angelique Kerber and Linda Noskova before losing in the quarter-finals to world No.1 Iga Swiatek. 

“The last few weeks have been a lot. Starting from the Billie Jean King Cup, I haven’t stopped.” Said Raducanu, who was in Madrid without her coach Nick Cavaday.
“It’s just been back-to-back and I was very happy being able to help carry the team in the BJK Cup, then straight to Stuttgart with no rest, then straight here and trying to adapt to the conditions which are very different because it’s outdoors and I was playing indoors for the last month. Many factors have made it very difficult to fully compete today but overall I’ve been playing pretty well.”

Despite Raducanu’s upbeat outlook, others have taken a dimmer view towards her latest result with BJK captain Anne Keothavong saying she ‘made a meal of the match.‘ Speaking on Sky Sports, Keothavong questioned if it was the right decision for her compatriot to play in Madrid after she appeared to show a lack of commitment to playing. 

“She touched on the fact, ‘Yes, I’m tired,’ The Times quoted Keothavong as saying. “She acknowledged that in her interview yesterday (Tuesday), but now when I look back, do you talk yourself into more tiredness? On one hand, it’s good to acknowledge it but on the other hand, if you’re going to go out there on the match court, you’ve got to be prepared to leave it all out there. That willingness just didn’t seem evident.
“Should she have taken the wild card this week? When the wild card is there, it’s a big event and for most players you are going to say, ‘Thank you very much, that’s a great opportunity.’ It’s a WTA 1000 and potentially big points on the board that will move her ranking from where it is at the moment [No 221].
“But when you see a player perform like that, you kind of question, ‘OK, maybe physically I wasn’t ready for it, mentally I wasn’t engaged and actually I probably could have done with the week off.’ Maybe in hindsight it would have been better to take this week off and go to play qualifying in Rome [the Italian Open starts next week].”

It is yet to be confirmed where Raducanu will be playing next. The Italian Open will get underway on May 7th but she will have to enter the qualifying draw with the use of her protected ranking unless organisers give her a wild card.

Heading into the second round of the Madrid Open, there is only one British woman left in the draw which is Katie Boulter who received a bye in the first round and will start against Robin Montgomery. In the men’s draw, Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie are still playing. 

The first joint ATP/WTA 1000 event of the clay season is underway in Madrid.  Thursday features first round ATP matches, and second round WTA action.

In the absence of Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from Madrid for “non-medical reasons,” Italy’s Jannik Sinner is the top seed at a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.  He is joined atop the ATP singles draw by two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.  But on Thursday, five-time champ Rafael Nadal is the headliner, as he plays his first match at the Madrid Open in two years, and just his sixth match across the past 15 months.

Three-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek is the top seed in the women’s singles draw , though she’s yet to win this event.  Iga lost in the final a year ago to the second seed, Aryna Sabalenka, who has won this tournament twice within the last three years.  But the WTA’s hottest player right now is Elena Rybakina, coming off her third title of the season last week in Stuttgart, where she beat Swiatek in the semifinals.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Naomi Osaka vs. Liudmila Samsonova (15) – Not Before 12:30pm on Manolo Santana Stadium

It feels quite odd seeing Osaka compete on anything but a hard court.  This is only her 43^rd main draw WTA match on this surface.  She’s been open regarding how uncomfortable she feels on clay, evident in her 4-6 record since 2020.  On Tuesday, Naomi won her first clay court match since this same event in 2022, defeating Greet Minnen 6-4, 6-1.

Samsonova is currently a top 20 player, but has performed far from that level in 2024, with a record of just 4-9 on the year.  She arrives in Madrid on a four-match losing streak, with one of those losses coming against Osaka, last month in Indian Wells.  And like Naomi, clay is not Liudmila’s strongest surface, as she owns a losing record on clay in her career.

Osaka’s 7-5, 6-3 victory last month in Indian Wells is their only prior encounter.  And with Samsonova currently lacking in confidence, I like Naomi’s chances of earning back-to-back wins on clay for the first time since 2019.

Darwin Blanch (WC) vs. Rafael Nadal (PR) – Not Before 5:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium

Nadal is 54-11 lifetime at his home country’s biggest tournament, where during one span he reached the final in nine out of 11 years.  But sadly the current version of Rafa is far from that level, as his physical limitations have only allowed him to play three events since January of 2023.  When speaking to the press on Wednesday, he expressed continued frustration regarding his injuries, and doubts regarding whether he will compete at Roland Garros. 

Last week in Barcelona, he defeated Flavio Cobolli in straight sets, before losing to Alex de Minaur in straights after a highly-competitive first sets.  His opponent on Thursday in Madrid is a 16-year-old American who trains alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy.  Much is expected of Darwin Blanch, though this is just his second ATP-level match.  Last month in Miami, he lost his first to Tomas Machac.

In what could easily be Nadal’s last appearance in the Madrid Open, Rafa is a slight favorite against the relatively unknown and untested newcomer.  Blanch has a big game, but stepping onto a clay court against The King of Clay is one of tennis’ most intimidating premises, regardless of Nadal’s current form.  And Rafa will of course have a loud and passionate stadium full of Spaniards behind him.

Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Donna Vekic vs. Maria Sakkari (5) – Sakkari is now 11-3 since hiring David Witt as her new coach, and advanced to the semifinals last year in Madrid.  Vekic is a modest 10-8 this season, but is 6-3 lifetime against Sakkari at all levels.

Coco Gauff (3) vs. Arantxa Rus – While Gauff is 19-6 on the year, she’s just 3-3 in Madrid, and has never been beyond the third round.  This is her first meeting with Rus, who defeated Brenda Fruhvirtova in straight sets on Tuesday.

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Xiyu Wang – Swiatek is 26-4 in 2024, with two WTA titles (Doha, Indian Wells).  Xiyu was a finalist earlier this year in Austin, and survived an over three-hour three-setter in the first round over Ana Bogdan.

Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.