Former No.1 Naomi Osaka is set to begin her grass-court season next month at the Libema Open, a WTA 250 event played in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
The Libema Open will be Osaka's first grass-court event in five years. Her last appearance on the surface came at 2019 Wimbledon. Osaka, who is coached by Belgian Wim Fissette, will be making her tournament debut.
The tournament begins immediately after Roland Garros on Monday, June 10. This year, the tournament has also landed a Top 10 player in No.5 Jessica Pegula and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. Also returning are two-time champion Ekaterina Alexandrova, Liudmila Samsonova and Elise Mertens.
Emma Navarro, who has surged up the rankings to sit just outside the Top 20, will also make her Rosmalen debut.
𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒊 𝑶𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂 🇯🇵👋
— Libéma Open🎾 (@LibemaOpen) May 28, 2024
Four-time Grand Slam champion and former number one of the world Osaka joins the field of participants and will make her debut in the Netherlands.
Tickets are still available 👉 https://t.co/OGuhwv0O0X#LibemaOpen #LO2024 pic.twitter.com/4rzYydVWnB
Osaka returned to the Hologic WTA Tour in January after a 15-month maternity leave. This week at Roland Garros, she earned a first-round win over Lucia Bronzetti and will face World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Direct entry list for 's-Hertogenbosch:
1. Jessica Pegula
2. Liudmila Samsonova
3. Ekaterina Alexandrova
4. Emma Navarro
5. Veronika Kudermetova
6. Elise Mertens
7. Donna Vekic
8. Yuan Yue
9. Marie Bouzkova
10. Anna Blinkova
11. Arantxa Rus
12. Magda Linette
13. Diana Shnaider
14. Bianca Andreescu
15. Oceane Dodin
16. Tamara Korpatsch
17. Greet Minnen
18. Bernarda Pera
19. Clara Tauson
20. Mayar Sherif
21. Bai Zhuoxuan