Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts after winning some extent in her match against Tamara Korpatsch of Germany in the course of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
BRISBANE, Australia— Naomi Osaka’s first win on the elite level since becoming a mother didn’t come easily. It did come on Day 1 of the 12 months, though. In order that was two items Osaka checked off the list Monday for her comeback to skilled tennis.
The previous No. 1-ranked Osaka was broken while serving for the match at 5-3 within the second set and needed three match points before converting within the tiebreaker for a 6-3, 7-6 (9) victory over Tamara Korpatsch in the primary round of the Brisbane International.
“I used to be super nervous the entire time,” Osaka, 26, said of her comeback match against the 28-year-old German player.
A two-time Australian and U.S. Open champion, Osaka pulled out of last 12 months’s Australian Open in Melbourne before later revealing she was pregnant. The U.S.-based Japanese player and her partner, rapper Cordae, became parents to daughter Shai in Los Angeles in July.
Osaka had only played one game since her first-round exit on the 2022 U.S. Open. She was leading Daria Gavrilova 1-0 on the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September of that 12 months before the Australian retired from the match with injury.
Osaka said she has a renewed deal with living within the moment on the subject of her tennis.
“The last couple years that I played before I had my daughter, I didn’t return as much love as I used to be given,” she told the gang at Pat Rafter Arena. “So I actually feel like that’s what I would like to do on this chapter.
“I just really appreciate people coming out and folks knowing me and cheering for me.
Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka, Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens are also within the 64-player women’s draw on the Brisbane International, one among the important thing tune-up events for the Australian Open in Melbourne.
