After being broken in the second set when serving for the match at 5-3, Osaka needed three match points to win the tiebreaker and defeat Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 (9).
It wasn’t easy for Naomi Osaka to win at the highest level after becoming a mother. But it did arrive on the first day of the year. Osaka crossed off two things on her list on Monday as she made her return to the world of professional tennis.
In the second set, the once-ranked Osaka was broken while serving for the match at 5-3. She required three match points to convert in the tiebreaker, but in the end, she defeated Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 (9) at the Brisbane International opening round.
Two-time Australian and U.S. Open winner Osaka withdrew from the Melbourne Australian Open the previous year, then announced her pregnancy shortly after. The Japanese player who lives in the United States and her girlfriend, rapper Cordae, welcomed daughter Shai into the world in July.
Osaka hadn’t participated in a match since the New York U.S. Open in 2021. Before the Australian withdrew due to a knee injury in September 2021, she was leading Daria Gavrilova 1-0 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The 64-player women’s draw of the Brisbane International, one of the major warm-up events for the Australian Open in Melbourne, also includes the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka, Sofia Kenin, and Sloane Stephens.
