Japan’s Naomi Osaka crashed out of the French Open in a 7-5 6-4 first-round loss to American Amanda Anisimova on Monday.
This is coming a year after her dramatic withdrawal from the clay court Grand Slam tournament amid mental health issues.
Up against 27th seed Anisimova, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka never looked comfortable on her least favourite surface as she struggled to control her powerful game.
The first three games all went against serve in a tense start but Anisimova held to go 3-1 ahead.
A backhand error by Anisimova allowed Osaka to level for 3-3, but a double-fault in the 11th game allowed Anisimova to move 6-5 up and she held serve to love to take the set.
Anisimova broke decisively for 4-3 in the second set as Osaka again double-faulted.
After a couple of match-points went begging, Anisimova finished it off with a stunning backhand winner down the line.
Osaka withdrew from the tournament in 2021 after boycotting post-match media duties for mental health reasons.
The Japanese at that time had revealed she had been suffering from depression for almost three years.
She returned to competitive tennis at the Tokyo Olympics after the saga cast a spotlight on players’ post-match media duties.