Japanese Naomi Osaka said her return to Roland Garros was “fundamentally positive”. It was after initially fearing a backlash against retiring from the tournament last year.

The 24-year-old, a four-time Grand Slam champion who retired 12 months ago, said she was battling depression.

At the end of last year, the No. 1 ranked in the old world took a break from tennis to maintain his mental health.

“I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I was worried when I first arrived.”

A few days before last year’s French Open, Osaka announced it would not be attending a press conference.

This led the actor to announce that he was retiring the next day, saying she was suffering from “chronic depression”.

She later said at the United States Open last year that given the opportunity now, she would have approached her decision not to speak to the media at another French Open.

“Obviously I do not like the way I handled the situation, but I’m afraid some people are making me uncomfortable, and I will meet them,” said Osaka, who retired from the Italian Open this month.

“But I think everyone is very positive most of the time. I’m not sure.”

Osaka, currently ranked 38th in the world, has played in five tournaments, including advancing to the 2022 Miami Open Championship.

In Indian Wells she burst into tears when she shouted “Naomi, bastard” about the boycott in a 6-0 loss, 6-4 to Veronika Kudermetova.

“I’m very worried about this press conference because I know I’m going to get a lot of questions about it,” he said of the game on Friday in Paris.

“I’m not saying I can get rid of it. Of course, I’m still thinking and preparing in case the fans say something like India well, even if I’m on leave.

Osaka faced a tough draw in the first round when ranked 27th Amanda Anisimova faced the young American. She had just completed the Australian Open in January.