World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka did it again, toppling Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in Monday’s Sabalenka vs Osaka French Open headliner to mark her third win over the No. 16 this year.
The matchup made history beyond its big-name bill, becoming the first women’s match in three years to feature in a night session at Roland Garros.
“The atmosphere and the attention that this match brought [is] going to show them that probably for the future they should consider putting at least sometimes women matches at night,” Sabalenka said afterwards.
Sabalenka and Osaka first faced off at the 2018 US Open, with the Belarusian moving to a 4-0 career record against the Japanese fan favorite.
The 2026 Sunshine Double champion now advances to her 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, setting up a clash with first-time quarterfinalist No. 23 Diana Shnaider hot off her own Round of 16 victory over No. 19 Madison Keys.
