Naomi Osaka’s first win on the elite stage since changing into a mom didn’t come simply. It did come on Day 1 of the 12 months, although. In order that was two objects Osaka checked off the record Monday for her comeback to skilled tennis.
The previous No. 1-ranked Osaka was damaged whereas serving for the match at 5-3 within the second set and wanted three match factors earlier than changing within the tiebreaker for a 6-3, 7-6 (9) victory over Tamara Korpatsch within the first spherical of the Brisbane Worldwide.
“I used to be tremendous nervous,” Osaka, mentioned of her comeback match towards the 28-year-old German.
A two-time Australian and U.S. Open champion, Osaka pulled out of final 12 months’s Australian Open in Melbourne earlier than later revealing she was pregnant. The U.S.-based Japanese participant and her accomplice, rapper Cordae, grew to become dad and mom to daughter Shai in Los Angeles in July.
Osaka had solely performed one sport because the 2021 U.S. Open in New York. She was main Daria Gavrilova 1-0 on the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2021, earlier than the Australian retired with a knee damage.
Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka, Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens are additionally within the 64-player ladies’s draw on the Brisbane Worldwide, one of many key tune-up occasions for the Australian Open in Melbourne.