{"id":200148,"date":"2026-06-01T22:50:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T22:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T22:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T22:50:05","slug":"will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women’s night sessions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For the first time since 2023, the French Open chose a women’s match for their primetime night-session spot on Court Philippe Chatrier.<\/b><\/p>\n

Roland Garros organisers – after three years of reluctance and excuses – simply had to choose Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth-round victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka. <\/p>\n

Under the lights on Monday, Sabalenka and Osaka produced a high-quality contest which underlined the WTA Tour’s strength and star power.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka eventually took control to win 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes, perhaps leaving some spectators wanting more.<\/p>\n

“I hope this is the beginning and we open the door to [more] women’s night sessions,” said 28-year-old Sabalenka.<\/p>\n

Osaka, also 28, added: “I’m honoured the tournament chose us to play in this slot and I hope going forward they continue to do so.”<\/p>\n

Few of the near-15,000 fans inside Chatrier – which was very close to capacity – seemed upset they had not received value for money.<\/p>\n

As well as the high level of play, many lapped up the entertainment provided by two players who undoubtedly bring the X-factor. <\/p>\n

Osaka, seeded 16th, walking out in another haute couture outfit – a sparkly Eiffel Tower-inspired dress which would not look out of place in Paris Fashion Week – and a dancing Sabalenka performing the moonwalk during her on-court victory speech were both well-received.<\/p>\n

“I think the atmosphere and attention this match brought is going to show [organisers] that they should consider putting at least some women’s matches at night,” said Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Both players showcased their preference for first-strike tennis, knocking lumps out of the ball from the baseline, in a high-level contest played at breakneck speed.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka’s ability to generate more power, and the greater variety which she has developed, proved the difference.<\/p>\n

For an absorbing set and a half there was very little between the pair, until Osaka ran out of gas and Sabalenka was able to sweep to victory.<\/p>\n

“For me I thought it was really cool – she’s really good for tennis and I hope I’m OK for tennis too. It was really fun to play,” said Osaka.<\/p>\n

Each of the previous 32 primetime sessions – scheduled to showcase the sport to the largest possible audience in France, Europe and the US – had been allocated to men’s matches.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka taking on Osaka was only the fifth women’s match in 61 night-time sessions since they were introduced in 2021.<\/p>\n

Beforehand, Osaka said she felt the slot needs to be filled by a “popcorn” match – and this blockbuster certainly fit the bill.<\/p>\n

The reigning world number one taking on a former world number one. <\/p>\n

A four-time Grand Slam champion pitted against another four-time Grand Slam champion. <\/p>\n

A fashion-conscious superstar who is trying to transcend the sport like Osaka already does.<\/p>\n

How could French Open organisers have justified overlooking it?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, herself a former women’s world number one, had regularly pointed to the possibility of short two-set matches as the reason for often overlooking the women.<\/p>\n

“The match-ups are always interesting for both men and women, but there are multiple factors for us to make the choice,” Mauresmo said earlier on Monday. <\/p>\n

“As you know, the potential length of the matches is something that we are also looking at.”<\/p>\n

On picking Sabalenka against Osaka, she added: “It was obvious that it should be a night match tonight.”<\/p>\n

There was a school of thought that Mauresmo might have looked elsewhere, though, had men’s world number one Jannik Sinner still been in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Sinner would have been scheduled to play on the same day, but without him the men’s matches taking place on Monday lacked star power.<\/p>\n

If Sabalenka against Osaka did not take place under the lights, then which women’s match would conceivably ever be picked?<\/p>\n

With that came a sense of expectation.<\/p>\n

If the match ended up being a dud, then it could have been used by critics as a stick to beat the women’s game with.<\/p>\n

That, others argue, was a situation created by the French Open’s reluctance to showcase its female stars in the first place.<\/p>\n

Was the burden which it placed on Sabalenka and Osaka to represent the women’s game fair?<\/p>\n

“I don’t really care. There are so many different things to put pressure on myself – that was the last thing on my mind,” said Osaka.<\/p>\n

“Shout out to the tournament for trusting us – I hope it was entertaining for people.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time since 2023, the French Open chose a women’s match for their primetime night-session spot on Court Philippe Chatrier. Roland Garros organisers – after three years of reluctance and excuses – simply had to choose Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth-round victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka. Under the lights on Monday, Sabalenka […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions? - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the first time since 2023, the French Open chose a women’s match for their primetime night-session spot on Court Philippe Chatrier. Roland Garros organisers – after three years of reluctance and excuses – simply had to choose Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth-round victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka. Under the lights on Monday, Sabalenka […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tahrir News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Tahrir News\",\"description\":\"News all over the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/\",\"name\":\"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions? - Tahrir News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb9492fbc67154812b39589e826b6e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/category\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women’s night sessions?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb9492fbc67154812b39589e826b6e4\",\"name\":\"megahed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ee3294b28670178246ce92a6679bf959bc435d2fcd9cb9ab078702487c106df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ee3294b28670178246ce92a6679bf959bc435d2fcd9cb9ab078702487c106df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"megahed\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions? - Tahrir News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions?","og_description":"For the first time since 2023, the French Open chose a women’s match for their primetime night-session spot on Court Philippe Chatrier. Roland Garros organisers – after three years of reluctance and excuses – simply had to choose Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth-round victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka. Under the lights on Monday, Sabalenka […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/","og_site_name":"Tahrir News","article_published_time":"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/","name":"Tahrir News","description":"News all over the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/","name":"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women's night sessions? - Tahrir News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-01T22:50:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb9492fbc67154812b39589e826b6e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/01\/will-sabalenka-and-osaka-open-door-for-womens-night-sessions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Will Sabalenka and Osaka open door for women’s night sessions?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb9492fbc67154812b39589e826b6e4","name":"megahed","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ee3294b28670178246ce92a6679bf959bc435d2fcd9cb9ab078702487c106df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ee3294b28670178246ce92a6679bf959bc435d2fcd9cb9ab078702487c106df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"megahed"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}