Osaka returns: ‘but I almost packed in my career’

Naomi Osaka will return to the courts for the first time in well over a year after putting her career on motherhood hold – and then almost giving it up in frustration.

The Japanese who has lived her entire life in the US, will headline at the Brisbane International, joining fellow new mother Angelique Kerber back in the WTA mix for 2024.

Osaka, 26, last hit a ball in anger in September, 2022 with a second-round loss in Tokyo.

The four-time Grand Slam winner who broke through in 2018 but later faded blaming her mental health, confessed that she flirted with hanging up the racquet during her darkest moment.

“A month maybe (after Tokyo) I was thinking about retirement because I felt like all my joy went away from the sport,” she said.

“I felt like it kind of wasn’t fair, both for the people watching and myself.

“But then I thought, I’ve played tennis since I was three and there’s so many more things that I want to do.”

Osaka, now the mother of baby Shia, will be starting her Australian campaign with a tournament wild card, said through, that her attitude mellowed over time.

“I appreciated the sport a lot more, definitely becoming a mum changed my mindset a lot.”

Osaka will mark her comeback with a first-round start against 84th-ranked German Tamara Korpatsch.

“Definitely I’m nervous, I haven’t played a match in a long time, but I’m competitive so I’m thinking I’m nervous and I want to win,” she said.

“There’s a lot of things that are going on in my head.

“The biggest thing is just walking onto the court and absorbing all the energy and experiencing the atmosphere.

“That’s something that I’m definitely going to treasure a lot.”