Japan's Naomi Osaka hadn't played a tennis match since September 2022. Since then, she has become a mother for the first time.
But yesterday she was back on the WTA Tour. At the Brisbane International, she won 6–3, 7–6 against German Tamara Korpatsch.
"I was super nervous the whole time, but I was really excited to be back on the track. "It felt really good to be back," Osaka said after the game, adding that she wanted to win extra to make her daughter Shai proud.
"Part of me felt that Shai was watching me, I wanted to do my best for her," the former world number one said after the match.
In the next round, Osaka will face another former world number one: Karolina Pliskova.