Naomi Osaka and her coach, Wim Fissette, hit the practice court on Wednesday before the Brisbane International as she got ready for her eagerly awaited comeback to tennis.
Osaka will make her WTA comeback at the tournament, which gets underway at Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday. Osaka, a two-time Australian and U.S. Open champion, withdrew from the Melbourne Australian Open last year and later announced her pregnancy.
The tournament director, Cameron Pearson, said on Wednesday: “She’s pumped and excited to be back in Brisbane. She arrived Christmas morning and was out training a few hours later. No Christmas pudding for her; she was straight into it.”
In preparation for his much-anticipated return, Osaka appeared incredibly driven and excited as she trained with his coach while hitting shots.
Naomi Osaka in 2023
Currently ranked no.661, the Japanese played her last match on the 20th of September 2022 when she had to retire when playing against world no.204 Daria Gavrilova in the 1st round and the scoreline was 1-0 .
At present, during this year the Japanese has managed to achieve an overall 14-9 record.