The nightmare period for Naomi Osaka continues: the athlete from Japan has already been eliminated from the first round of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Cincinnati.

Leonard Francois and Naomi OsakaPhoto: SportsPressJP / AFLO / Profimedia

Osaka, ranked 39th in the WTA rankings, lost to China’s Shuai Zhang (WTA No. 44) 6-4, 7-5 after an hour and 14 minutes of play.

In the next round of American competitions, Zhang will meet with Russian Kateryna Aleksandrova (27 WTA).

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi has only won once in the past three and a half months (during which she lost five matches).

At the beginning of August, the Japanese woman announced that she would be coached again by her father, Leonard Francois.

The Western & Southern Open is the last tournament before the US Open 2022

A WTA 1000 category competition, the tournament will be held on hard from August 15 to 21, 2022. Its total prize money is $2,527,250 and there are 64 players at the start of the main draw. The reigning champion is Ashley Barty (now retired), who won the title last year.