The four-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka will make her much-anticipated return at the rebuilt Brisbane International.
Osaka competed in her final WTA match at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo towards the end of September 2022.
Osaka was chosen as Brisbane’s highly prized drawcard for the lead-up Australian Open tournament, which takes place from December 31 to January 7. Brisbane officials announced this on Friday.
Osaka recently said in a statement: “I am really excited about getting back out on court and competing. I always love starting my season in Brisbane and can’t wait to return. The Brisbane International is such a great tournament and will set me up for a brilliant comeback this summer.”
In July of last year, Osaka and her boyfriend, the American rapper Cordae, welcomed their daughter Shai to Los Angeles.
Osaka posted on social media a while ago: “Well, that was a cool little intermission; now back to your regularly scheduled program. I can’t wait to get back on the court.”
Naomi Osaka in 2023
Currently the world no.661, the Japanese played her last match on the 20th of September 2022 when she had to retire when playing against world no.206 Daria Gavrilova in the 1st round and the scoreline was 1-0 .
At the moment, during this season Osaka has managed to achieve an overall 14-9 match record.
Naomi Osaka |
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