Naomi Osaka set to return to action, awarded wildcard for Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is set to return to action at the Indian Wells, which begins in March. Osaka was awarded a wild card for the first WTA 1000 tournament of the year.

Osaka is a former champion at the Indian Wells, where she won her first WTA title. She expressed her delight in making a return to the desert and was quoted saying “ To return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the place I won my first big event, it’s special. It was special in 2018 and it will be special again this March.”

2018 champion ➡️?@naomiosaka is awarded a wild card and returns to #TennisParadise March 7-20? pic.twitter.com/cz01Hh14Qi
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) February 17, 2022

The 4-time Grand Slam champion skipped the better part of last year due to mental health concerns. She started her 2021 season on a stellar note by adding a second Australian Open crown to her name. But her season derailed from then onwards, at the French Open Osaka declined to attend media assignments, which drew a lot of flak from the tournament organizers. After winning her first-round match, the former World No.1 withdrew from her next match citing mental health concerns. She only competed at a handful of tournaments later in the year, which resulted in dropping out of the top-10.

She began her 2022 season on a positive note with a semi-final finish at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 but withdrew with an injury. Her title defense at the Australian Open ended with a shock defeat to Amanda Anisimova in the third round, because of which she plummeted down the rankings from 14th to 85th. Now, Osaka cannot enter the main draw of major tournaments directly because of her low ranking and has to rely on wild cards or qualifiers until she improves in the standings.

Naomi Osaka won her first WTA title at the Indian Wells

Osaka returns to the courts of California where she won her 1st 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.

.@Naomi_Osaka_ wins her first title at @BNPPARIBASOPEN!

Powers over Kasatkina, 6-3, 6-2! #BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/l3p2zROGp6
— wta (@WTA) March 18, 2018

Now the 24-year-old has to climb all the way up the rankings after falling to 82nd place, her first time out of the top-50 since 2015. She is currently the second highest-ranked Japanese player behind Misaka Doi, who is ranked No. 76.