Naomi Osaka receives playful 'revenge' threat from Caroline Garcia ahead of Qatar Open

Caroline Garcia claimed that she was looking forward to a 'revenge' with Naomi Osaka later this year. The Frenchwoman lost to the four-time Major winner in the first round of this year's Australian Open, marking their fifth career meeting on the WTA Tour.

Garcia had enjoyed a respectable season last year as she guided Team France to a runner-up finish at the 2024 United Cup. The former World No. 4 then struggled for consistency in the following months before suffering a serious shoulder injury last September.

The 31-year-old then made her tour-level comeback in Melbourne this month. However, she received a tough first-round match as she drew Naomi Osaka in what was their third-ever Australian Open encounter, losing 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Caroline Garcia poked fun at the former World No. 1 for beating her in their latest encounter on her Instagram story. She tagged both Osaka and her current coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, in it, writing in the caption:

"I'm ready for my revenge in Doha @naomiosaka @patrickmouratoglou."

Via Caroline Garcia Instagram stories

Osaka and Garcia have met five times on the WTA Tour thus far, with the 27-year-old enjoying a slight 3-2 edge in their rivalry. The Japanese first beat the Frenchwoman at the 2019 Australian Open en route to her second career Major title.

The two players have since split their last four meetings at the 2024 Australian Open, the 2024 Doha Open, the 2024 Miami Open and the 2025 Australian Open.

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Caroline Garcia: "Very nice to see Naomi Osaka coming back for herself"

Naomi Osaka waves to Melbourne crowd after third-round exit (Source: Getty)

Ahead of her clash against Naomi Osaka at this year's Happy Slam, Caroline Garcia showered rich praise on the 27-year-old's character and mental strength while looking forward to their fifth career meeting.

"She's a great champion, great person. Went through some ups and downs, and it's very nice to see her coming back for herself but also for the tennis," Caroline Garcia said during her first press conference in Melbourne. "Yeah, it's going to be a great match to play, for sure."

Although Garcia has yet to taste success at a singles tournament this year, Osaka did well to kick off her 2025 WTA Tour season. The World No. 51 reached her first tour-level final in nearly three years at the Auckland Open earlier this year, where she fell to Denmark's Clara Tauson in three sets. She then reached the third round at the 2025 Australian Open, retiring midway through her match against Belinda Bencic.