The second coming of Naomi Osaka

The world of tennis waited with bated breath for Naomi Osaka’s comeback. 

There were moments during her time away from the game when fans anxiously wondered whether they had seen the last of the former World No. 1 on a competitive tennis court. 

Osaka didn’t play last year’s Australian Open and later revealed she was pregnant. She and her partner, rapper Cordae, became parents to daughter Shai in July.

Headliner, on and off the court: Osaka’s return has increased the starpower in the women’s game. | Photo credit: Getty Images

More than a tennis player

Given her interests outside of tennis — she is an entrepreneur with several business interests, a self-confessed “fashion nerd” who debuted a collection she co-designed at the New York Fashion Week, and a social change advocate with a strong track record — the thought of her walking away from the game in her mid-20s was not implausible.

Just as significantly, Osaka had spoken in the past about struggling with her mental health. She withdrew from Roland-Garros 2021 after the bitter fallout from her decision to boycott all media activity at the Grand Slam, revealing that she had “suffered long bouts of depression” and that certain lines of questioning adversely impacted her mental health. She had spoken, too, of being “spent physically” and of how her “joy went away for the sport”. 

Why would Osaka want to return to the all-consuming world of professional tennis? Having already scaled the peaks — she is one of three players in the Open Era, Monica Seles and Roger Federer the others, to have won their first four Major finals — did she have the motivation?

The 26-year-old answered both questions at the Brisbane International, her first tournament back. She won her first match since late 2022, in straight sets against Tamara Korpatsch, and showed enough in her three-set defeat to Karolina Pliskova, another former World No. 1, to suggest that her preparations for the Australian Open were on track. 

The birth of Shai, she said, had given her new purpose and fuelled her comeback. “Giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through. It’s definitely made me feel like physically I can handle a lot,” she said. “I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes why I want to be back out here. She has affected my goals in a positive way. I think I want to achieve a lot more and I feel like it’s better to have…