Osaka-Sabalenka gets rare women's night match at Roland Garros The French Open will stage a women’s match in its night session on Monday for the first time in three years. This decision marks the return of a women’s singles contest to the primetime slot, which has been dominated by men’s matches for the past three years. The match will feature world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka facing Naomi Osaka in the fourth round, ending a streak of 33 consecutive men’s matches in the night session. The encounter is scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. ET). Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has faced criticism for prioritizing men’s singles matches in the night session since its introduction in 2021. Over the past three years, only four of the first 60 matches in the primetime slot have been women’s singles contests, with none occurring since 2023. The last women’s match in the night session involved Sabalenka, who defeated Sloane Stephens in 2023. This year’s matchup against Osaka represents the first women’s singles match in the night session since then. Sabalenka, who leads 2-1 in their career meetings, expressed her readiness for the challenge, stating, “I’m just ready for the fight. It’s great to see her back on her level. ... I really enjoy our battles. It’s high-level matches, and I really enjoy when somebody push me to the limit.” Osaka, meanwhile, noted her unfamiliarity with playing night matches at Roland Garros, remarking, “I’m so used to not playing night matches here and playing night matches in the US Open or something like that that I don’t even associate this tournament with night matches.” The scheduling decision has drawn attention to the disparity in how men’s and women’s matches are allocated during the tournament.#osaka #roland_garros #sabalenka #amelie_mauresmo #valerie_camillo
