2024-01-01 07:51:52
Naomi Osaka made a successful comeback on New Year’s Day following a 15-month maternity leave. The 26-year-old won her first round match of the WTA tournament in Brisbane, Australia once morest the German Tamara Korpatsch following 2:48 hours 6:3 7:6 (11/9).
“It feels really good to be back,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner followingwards: “To be honest, I’m very proud of myself. I think I played at a pretty good level. My opponent also 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.
No game since September 2022
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.
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