Two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka was thrilled to return to the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Monday for her first practice of the 2024 tournament—her first time hitting balls on the courts she's famously excelled on since becoming a mom.
Osaka won her first Grand Slam singles title in Queens in 2018, and followed it up with her third in 2020, but missed all of 2023 due to pregnancy. She gave birth to her daughter, Shai, last July just weeks prior to last year's event, returned to tennis on a full-time basis at the start of this season, and was awarded a wild card for her eighth US Open this year.
And though she was on hand for the 2023 tournament as a spectator, and to participate in a summit on athlete mental health, her return to the blue-and-green playing surface of Arthur Ashe Stadium on the first day of US Open Fan Week was a welcome sight.
Osaka is 22-5 at the US Open in her career, for a winning percentage of 80%, and will be bidding to win her first match in New York since 2021 during this Flushing fortnight.
But the milestone of just stepping foot on the grounds wasn't one she was about to overlook.
"This means so much to me," she wrote on the social media app Threads on Monday morning, "I could cry."
Osaka's return was also met eagerly by fans, with many crowding courtside in Arthur Ashe Stadium to get autographs and snap photos with the former world No. 1.
She was equally excited to see her peers in Queens, and stopped at a point in her practice to take a photo of 2021 US Open men's champ Daniil Medvedev.
Osaka arrives at the US Open having gone 2-2 in the summer hard-court season. She beat 2022 US Open finalist Ons Jabeur in the first round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, but lost in qualifying in Cincinnati—her first appearance in qualifying at a WTA tournament since before she won her first major.
After that tournament ended, Osaka penned a candid letter posted to her social media channels in which she chronicled the ups-and-downs of her comeback season, but signed off on a hopeful note as she looked forward to her New York return.
“During this time, I’ve wondered what do I want out of this whole experience and I realized something,” she wrote in part. “I love the process (though the process doesn’t love me sometimes haha), putting in work every day and eventually having the opportunity to get to where you want to be.
"I know life isn’t guaranteed so I want to do the best that I can with the time that I have; I want to teach my daughter that she can achieve so many things with hard work and perseverance. I want her to aim for the stars and never think her dreams are too big.
"Nothing in life is promised but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and give it my best shot 'til the very end."
