WTA tournament in Brisbane
Tennis player Osaka wins on her comeback after a maternity break
Celebrated a successful comeback: Naomi Osaka. photo
© Jono Searle/AAP/dpa
Japan’s tennis star Naomi Osaka made a successful comeback on New Year’s Day after a 15-month maternity leave. The 26-year-old won her first round match of the WTA tournament in Brisbane, Australia against Tamara Korpatsch from Kaltenkirchen 6:3 7:6 (11:9).
Japan’s tennis star Naomi Osaka made a successful comeback on New Year’s Day after a 15-month maternity leave. The 26-year-old won her first round match at the WTA tournament in Australia Brisbane against Kaltenkirchen’s Tamara Korpatsch 6:3 7:6 (11:9).
However, the former world number one needed 2:48 hours for her deserved victory. “It really feels very good to be back,” said the four-time Grand Slam tournament winner afterwards: “To be honest, I’m very proud of myself. I think I played at a pretty good level. My opponent did too played very well.”
In the second round, Osaka will face number 16 seeded Czech Karolina Pliskova, who had a bye at the start. The hard court event, worth around 1.7 million US dollars, is considered a preparatory tournament for the Australian Open from January 14th to 28th.
Osaka reported in July that she had become a mother. She had not played a game on the professional tour since September 2022 until her comeback. Two years ago, she reported depression and anxiety and later took an extended break to protect her mental health.