Mats Wilander, Tim Henman back Naomi Osaka to return to top of tennis again after French Open loss

Mats Wilander and Tim Henman are backing Naomi Osaka to return to the top despite her first-round defeat to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open.

Osaka withdrew from the tournament last year to protect her mental health and has since had several breaks from the sport. She also struggled with an Achilles injury ahead of Roland-Garros.

But the world No. 38 looked like she might be returning to her best ahead of the clay season when she reached the final of the Miami Open.

“I’m not really surprised about Osaka losing to Animisova, she is a great player and made the semi-finals here a few years back,” said seven-time Grand Slam champion Wilander.

“I’m very happy to see Osaka back, trying hard and with a really good attitude.

“She has struggled on her clay her whole career so far, and she has struggled on grass too, she is very much a hard-court specialist. I think she is on her way back and will get back to the top again if she wants it.”

Osaka has won all four of her majors on hard courts and is yet to make it past the third round of the French Open or Wimbledon.

He also thinks Osaka will contend for big titles again.

“It’s great to see her in a really positive frame of mind because she has struggled with mental health issues and it’s most important that is she feeling healthy in that regard,” he said.

“We say form is temporary, class is permanent, and she is one of the best players in the world. Her ranking has dropped but if she stays committed and keeps working hard there is no reason why she can’t get back to the top of the game in the not-too-distant future.”

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