Fans enjoy some star-spotting on Monday as Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka hit the courts
Naomi Osaka doesn’t hold the fondest memories of the last time she and esteemed Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski were both on Court Philippe-Chatrier under a closed roof.
That came in a 2024 second-round blockbuster when Wiktorowski’s charge at the time, then three-time reigning champion Iga Swiatek, saved a match point to deny the Japanese star 7-5 in the third set of arguably the match of the women’s tournament that year.
It came merely five months into Osaka’s return from maternity leave and two years later, in the evolving world of player-coach tandems, Wiktorowski has since joined Team Osaka.
On Monday, the pair returned to Chatrier – this time on the same side – as the four-time major champion Osaka was put through her paces before ground-pass holders ahead of her eighth Roland-Garros start.
Outside, at the far reaches in the sunken surrounds of Court Simonne-Mathieu, Swiatek – decked out in an all-salmon-coloured training ensemble – was quietly building towards her eighth campaign in Paris in a closed practice session.
The four-time champion is most at home in these parts and after a semifinal exit to eventual champion Elina Svitolina in Rome, it is a chance to iron out any pre-tournament glitches before she begins her bid to recapture the crown.
Earlier, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka also opted for a closed, albeit brief, Simonne-Mathieu practice session away from tactically astute rival camps keen to gain an insight.
Despite earlier than expected departures from Rome and Madrid, there was plenty to look forward to in Paris.
With new dog Ash in tow, Sabalenka could barely contain her excitement as she collected her pooch’s first Grand Slam accreditation.
A pair of top-10 Americans and another in the form of her life also made the most of their first Paris hits of 2026 under the closed roof of Chatrier.
Without a clay-court match to her name for the season owing to a wrist injury, it was a positive sign for two-time Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova, who traded blows with Madrid semifinalist Hailey Baptiste.
Every ounce of practice matters on the eve of the major at which she made a breakout run to the semifinals in 2019, when as an unseeded teenager she upstaged defending champion Simona Halep before falling to eventual winner Ash Barty.
Practice set in the bag and the problematic Anisimova wrist seemingly on track, the pair had time for snaps courtside. Compatriot and world No.5 Jessica Pegula was in no hurry to move them on, instead opting to share a laugh with both before the serious business of main-draw matters take hold.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
