Published 21:22 IST, October 26th 2019
WTA Finals: Tennis star Naomi Osaka to deal with round-robin format
World number three tennis star Naomi Osaka is confident that she can better deal with the WTA Finals' demanding round-robin format after her maiden appearance.
World number three tennis star Naomi Osaka is confident that she can better deal with the WTA Finals' demanding round-robin format after her maiden appearance at a season-ending showpiece was a failure. She was in the public attention entering last year's WTA finals besides the controversial US Open victory over Serena Williams. Osaka failed to remain in the hype in a winless campaign that ended in tears when she was forced to retire against Kiki Bertens due to a hamstring injury.
'Gained lessons from past experience': Osaka
She gained lessons from her past experience and said that she knew what to expect in the $14 million tournaments competing for the eight best-ranked players of 2019. The famous tennis tournament has been shifted to the southern city of Shenzhen for the next 10 years and after a five-year run in Singapore. Osaka said on Saturday that she learned a lot from her last year and it was beneficial for her to know the format more. She revealed that she has never played round-robin. She said that the end of last year's tour was very pressurizing for her and added when she reached the finals she was very exhausted.
The finals will commence from Sunday
She will be one of the favourites in Shenzhen having claimed successive titles in Osaka and Beijing. The 22-year-old has been back in form after a standalone first-round exit at Wimbledon followed by a weak US Open title defence that ended with a round of 16 defeat to Belinda Bencic, who she will play against in Shenzhen. She said that she has given her 100 percent in the matches she had played so far. The finals will commence from Sunday with Osaka first facing against Kvitova. The event's move to China is highlighted by huge prize money of $14 million.
Updated 21:38 IST, October 26th 2019