He had not been seen on the circuit for four months almost to the day. The last time Naomi Osaka appeared on a tennis court was during her backhand to Leylah Fernandez (5-7, 7-6 [2], 6-4) in the 3rd round of the US Open in early September. Moments following this disappointment the former world number 1 had burst into tears during the press conference and had declared that she wanted to “take a break for a while” because of psychological problems which disturbed, parasitized, her year 2021.
On Tuesday, the Japanese Naomi Osaka reappeared on the court and managed to overcome her nervousness to win in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) once morest the French Alizé Cornet in the first round of the tournament. de Melbourne 1. A meeting which is one of two tournaments organized simultaneously by the WTA in Melbourne as part of the preparation for the Australian Open (from January 17 to 30).
“It always feels good to come back here, it’s really nice to play in front of a crowd,” Osaka said at Rod Laver Arena where she twice won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, following her Victoire.
Still feverish, the double winner of the US Open (2018 and 2020) however multiplied the faults (57 unforced errors) and was the victim of a sacred air hole in the second set (five games lost in a row at 6 -4, 3-1 and loss of the second set). A slump that she was able to recover to get rid of the French number 1. From the start of the 3rd set, she achieved the break that she kept until the end of the meeting.
“I feel like I made a lot of unforced errors, but I expected it because it’s my first match and I was really nervous,” admitted the player, now 13th in the world. I’m really happy to have kept my serve in the last game. ”
Perhaps the end of a long journey for the 24-year-old who had explained that her problems were exacerbated when she had to appear in front of the media following her meetings. She had notably withdrawn from the tournament at Roland Garros and had bypassed Wimbledon, revealing to have anxiety problems, marked by “several depressive episodes”. She also sank during the Tokyo Games, at home, being eliminated in July in the round of 16 of the tournament.
During his absence, Osaka said he saw his friends and talked a lot with his family: “I felt it was a way for me to relieve the pressure I was feeling,” she explained on Tuesday. . “And little by little, I felt once more the love that I have for the game: even if it was never completely gone, I had the impression that it was weighed down by all the emotions that I accumulated by playing year following year … Sometimes it’s good to remember why we play, ”she concluded.