Tennis star Naomi Osaka (26) suffered a quick exit from her much-noticed Grand Slam comeback in Melbourne.
The four-time major winner lost her first round match at the Australian Open 4:6, 6:7 (2:7) despite a solid performance by 16th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.
The Japanese woman, who temporarily turned away from tennis in September 2022 due to psychological problems and gave birth to daughter Shai in July 2023, showed good approaches in the Rod Laver Arena at the end of the second day of the tournament, but still needs time on the way to her old strength . Garcia used her first match point against the 2019 and 2021 tournament winner after 1:27 hours of play.
By midday, US Open champion Coco Gauff had confidently moved into the second round. The 19-year-old defeated the Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6:3, 6:0 in her opening match and confirmed her impressive early form. At the start of the year, Gauff convincingly defended her title at the WTA tournament in Auckland.
In the second round, the American will face her compatriot Caroline Dolehide. “I feel good, I just want to have fun. This is definitely the ‘Happy Slam’ here in Australia, and that’s what I’m trying to be,” said Gauff.
Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova also suffered an early exit. The Czech, number seven in the world, had no chance against the outstanding Ukrainian qualifier Dajana Jastremska and lost 1:6, 2:6. Jastremska’s compatriot Elina Switolina, seeded 24th, moved into the next round with an easy 6:2, 6:2 against Australian Taylah Preston.