Naomi Osaka Rome run ends in fourth round, former No. 1 bows out to Zheng Qinwen

ROME, Italy—Naomi Osaka’s encouraging run at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia ended in the fourth round with a loss to Zheng Qinwen, 6-2, 6-4, on Monday.

Playing on one of her least favorite surfaces, Osaka nonetheless scored back-to-back wins over Top 20 players but the No. 7 seed proved too strong for the four-time Grand Slam champion, who bowed out in 84 minutes on Campo Centrale.

"My first junior championship was in Italy. My first ITF championship and my first WTA championship were in Italy. Right now, Rome second time in quarterfinals, I will just say I love to play here in Italy!" Zheng exclaimed on court after the match, thanking the fans in Italian.

The former world No. 1 had made a point to improve her results on clay since returning to action from her 2023 maternity leave, during which she gave birth to daughter Shai. Osaka started the clay swing earlier than usual by playing a 250 event in Rouen before competing at the Mutua Madrid Open, where she lost in the second round to Liudmila Samsonova.

Arriving to Rome under the radar, she strung together her most impressive results on clay since 2019, when she reached the quarterfinals of both Madrid and Rome. She took out Porsche Tennis Grand Prix runner-up Marta Kostyuk before roaring past 2022 Roland Garros semifinalist Daria Kasatkina, both in straight sets, to win three matches in a row on clay for the first time in five years.

Awaiting her in the fourth round was Zheng, another big hitter but one who has proven more comfortable on clay since making her Grand Slam main draw debut in 2022. Her breakthrough came that year at Roland Garros, where she shocked former champion Simona Halep in three sets, and she reached the quarterfinals of Rome last year.

After starting the 2024 season by reaching her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, Zheng played solid tennis through the spring, but suffered an injury as the clay-court season got underway, hindering her performance in Stuttgart in a second-round thriller with Kostyuk and forcing her to retire from her opening round against Yulia Putintseva in Madrid.

Looking much stronger in Rome, the 21-year-old from China’s Hubei province made quick work of American Shelby Rogers and rallied from a set down to defeat No. 29 seed Linda Noskova to book her second career meeting with Osaka, who had beaten her in their only previous meeting on hard courts in 2022.

A notable wrinkle to the rivalry: Zheng had been working with Wim Fissette, Osaka's longtime coach, through the 2023 season, but the two parted ways following Osaka's decision to begin preparing for her comeback in the fall. Zheng is now working with Pere Riba, who was formerly with Coco Gauff's coaching team during the American's run to the 2023 US Open title.

"I know she's always really tough to beat, doesn't matter what surface it is," Zheng said. "She won a lot of Grand Slam titles before, and it's not easy to come back after being a mother. I've always had a lot of respect to players like this. I think today, I tried to give my everything on court and tried to fight. I'm really proud of myself, and I also want to say to Naomi that she did really good because not all players have this mentality to come back as a mother."

The two exchanged breaks to open Monday afternoon action on Campo Centrale but Zheng, who typically struggles to deliver a high first-serve percentage, proved more consistent than Osaka, who managed just 27% in the opening set. Zheng took full advantage as Osaka failed to find her range on the outset and broke serve three times to claim the set in under 40 minutes.

Zheng kept up that momentum early in the second set, easing ahead 2-0 with a break in hand and held on to 5-4 with a chance to serve for the match. After a service winner brought up two match points, Osaka complained to umpire Cecilia Alberti regarding a potential hindrance from Zheng, who let out a delayed grunt after striking the serve.

But Osaka receieved no relief and Zheng, who allowed Osaka just eight winners in two sets, converted her second match point she outrallied Osaka to reach another quarterfinal in Rome. She will face either No. 3 seed Coco Gauff or Paula Badosa for a spot in the semifinals.