“It’s nice to be back”- Naomi Osaka excited to return to action at the Indian Wells


“It’s nice to be back”- Naomi Osaka excited to return to action at the Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is all set to make a return to action at the Indian Wells. The former World No.1 hasn’t played a match since her third-round exit at the 2022 Australian Open.

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The Japanese star took to Twitter to express her delight in returning to the desert, where she won her maiden WTA title. Osaka skipped the tournament last year, whereas the 2020 edition was canceled due to the pandemic.

“After 2 years it’s nice to be back,” she posted with a snap of her on the practice courts in California.

This will be Osaka’s first competitive match since her shock loss to Amanda Anisimova in the third round of the Australian Open. Her early exit meant the 4-time Grand Slam champion dropped valuable ranking points as she was the defending champion. Osaka skipped the better half of last season citing mental health issues and played only two tournaments this year. As a result, she plummeted out of the top-80 and is currently ranked 82nd, her first time out of the top-50 since 2015

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She initially missed the cut for the main draw and was awarded a wild card. But later on, she was added to the main draw to replace Camila Giorgi, after the Italian had to withdraw due to an injury

Naomi Osaka’s record at the Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka

Osaka has a remarkable track record at the Indian Wells, where she won her maiden WTA title in 2018. The former World No.1 won the title in dominant fashion, she defeated then-World No.1 Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova, another top-5 player en route to her title win. She was the youngest champion in the desert in a decade, since Ana Ivanovic won in 2008. That was just the beginning for Osaka who had a breakthrough year in 2018. She won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open and broke into the top-5 of the WTA rankings.

In 2019, her title defense was cut short by Belinda Bencic in the third round. This will be Osaka’s third appearance in Indian Wells and she will be keen to return to her title-winning ways by drawing inspiration from her title triumph in 2018.

Also read: Serena Willams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou Applauds Russian Tennis Stars for Speaking Up on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War

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