Naomi Osaka has made an impressive return to win her first completed WTA Tour match in 517 days.
“It feels really good to be back,” the four-time Grand Slam champion told an adoring crowd today at Pat Rafter Arena.
The Japanese star produced a dazzling display to defeat German Tamara Korpatsch 6-3 7-6(9) at the Brisbane International.
After dominating the first-round match early, Osaka was forced to dig deep to secure a straight-sets win.
“Honestly, I’m very proud of myself,” Osaka said. “I feel like I played at a pretty good level. I think my opponent played really well, as well.”
The former world No.1 squandered a 5-3 advantage in the second set and had to save two set points in a fiercely contested tiebreak, before eventually closing out the match in one hour and 48 minutes.
It is Osaka’s first match – and win – since having daughter Shai in July 2023.
“I was super nervous, but I was really excited to be out there,” Osaka said.
A radiant Osaka savored the moment, taking selfies and signing autographs with her many fans before leaving the court.
“I feel like the last couple of years that I played, before you know I had my daughter, I didn’t return as much love as I was given, so I really feel what I want to do in this chapter,” Osaka explained.
“I just really appreciate people coming out and people knowing me and cheering for me, because there was a time where I was just a little kid trying to watch my role models play, so it feels really surreal sometimes to be playing on these courts.”
Osaka’s victory sets up a tantalising second-round showdown with another former world No.1, Czech Karolina Pliskova.
“I think my next match will be a really good test,” Osaka said.
Pliskova is a three-time champion in Brisbane and has won 16 of her past 17 matches at the tournament. This includes a three-set semifinal victory against Osaka, where she saved a match point, during her title-winning run in 2020.
“She’s such a tough opponent,” Osaka said of the No.16 seed. “She’s very different from the match that I played just now, so (I’m) very interested to see what happens.”