Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka to play first French Open women’s match in night session since 2023

PARIS — For only the third time since 2021, and for the first time in three years, the French Open has scheduled a women’s match at night.

Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion, will take on world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a heavyweight duel between two of the biggest stars the sport has produced this decade.

The move comes amid wholesale carnage in the men’s draw and years of resistance and statements that have derided women’s tennis. Amelie Mauresmo, the former world No. 1 who served as the tournament director two years ago, said women’s tennis was not as “attractive” as men’s tennis.

Though the tournament never officially prohibited women from playing the lone match scheduled for the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier, organizers suggested through their words and their actions that it would require special circumstances for women to fill the bill on what is supposed to be the marquee match of the day for the French audience.

Before the tournament, Valerie Camillio, the new chief executive at the WTA, the women’s tour, met with Mauresmo to lobby on behalf of female players to get the nighttime assignment, though not all women will be pleased by that. Iga Swiatek, the four-time champion and world No. 2, said repeatedly in recent years that she preferred to play during the day to maintain a more routine schedule and take advantage of conditions that are faster and more lively during the warmth of a Paris afternoon.

Special circumstances have certainly arisen at the 2026 French Open. The biggest stars in the men’s game — Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic — are no longer in the tournament.

Alcaraz never made it to the start, as he is sidelined with an ailing wrist, while Sinner lost in the second round and Djokovic lost a day later in the third round.

All three have regularly filled the night session in recent years but they have ceased to be an option. Also, there are no more French men in the tournament. Moise Kouame, a breakout 17-year-old star, lost in the third round.

When organizers looked at the the potential match-ups to put in the featured slot, the only Grand Slam champions to choose from were women – Sabalenka, Osaka and Madison Keys. The only players to reach the pinnacle of the sport were Sabalenka and Osaka.

The move will test Mauresmo’s suggestion that the French audience may not find a women’s match, which is best-of-three sets rather than best-of-five, providing enough value for a single ticket. Women’s matches can occasionally end in a little more than an hour, especially when Sabalenka is playing. Mauresmo has said previously that scheduling a doubles match after was not an option organizers were considering.

Sabalena and Osaka played in April in Madrid. Sabalenka won in three sets. The match lasted 2 hours, 20 minutes.