Naomi Osaka landed in Australia ahead of the 2024 Australian Open as the Japanese star is eager to start her post-pregnancy comeback in style.
Osaka, 26, last featured in a WTA tournament at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022 and gave birth to a daughter, Shai, in July this year.
The 26-year-old revealed her pregnancy in January 2023. She was last seen in action after a victory in her first-round match against Australia’s Daria Saville at the Pan Pacific Open in September.
However, after staying away from the court for over 15 months, the four-time Grand Slam winner is ready to showcase her magic at the same place where she won her last major.
In an interview earlier this month, she revealed the motivation behind her return to the court. Osaka gave full credit to her newborn and stated that it feels like she is “playing for Shai” now.
"I've never been a person that's really good at playing for myself, if that makes sense. So I kind of like the feeling of having the responsibility of having to take care of Shai and wanting to show her around the world. I kind of feel more like I'm playing for her [Shai]," Osaka told Euro Sport.
Osaka — former world no. 1 — has won four Grand Slams including US Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.
Now due to her long absence on the court, she is currently unranked.
Aside from her professional life, Osaka suffered from depression since the 2018 US Open. Meanwhile, in 2021, she was fined $15,000 because she refused to take part in a mandatory press conference during the French Open.
Following the incident, she withdrew from the tournament and cited “dealing with mental health” as the reason. She also withdrew from Wimbledon for the same reason.
