Melbourne (AP) – Former tennis world number one Naomi Osaka has made a successful debut in the new season after a four-month break. The Japanese won her opening match at the WTA tournament in Melbourne 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 3 against the French Alizé Cornet.
Osaka ended the previous season prematurely after their third round at the US Open in early September. At the time, she had announced a break from tennis and left open the date of her return. Osaka had already made public that she was suffering from periods of depression and was taking a break. She had renounced Wimbledon in 2021 and was eliminated early at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
She has a big goal for this year, said the 24-year-old after her two-hour game in the Rod-Laver-Arena – and that loud, to have fun on the tennis court regardless of the results. Your break from tennis was shorter than expected. “I really believed that I wouldn’t play for most of this year,” said Osaka, who is currently only 13th in the world rankings.
The WTA tournament in Melbourne, in which she is seeded number one, serves to prepare for the Australian Open. In the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, Osaka will start as the defending champion on January 17th.
Andrea Petkovic also made her debut into the new season in Melbourne. The world rankings-75. from Darmstadt defeated Lyudmila Samsonova from Russia, seeded fifth, 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 3) in Melbourne. The 34-year-old is the only German participant in this preparatory tournament for the Australian Open.
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