BRISBANE, Australia — 4-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka will make her comeback to tennis on the Brisbane Worldwide warmup event forward of the Australian Open.
Match officers on Friday confirmed Osaka will contest the Dec. 31-Jan. 7 occasion to start out her 2024 season.
A two-time Australian and US Open winner, Osaka was a shock withdrawal from final yr’s Australian Open earlier than later revealing she was pregnant.
The previous tennis No. 1 introduced the delivery of her daughter Shai in July.
“I’m actually enthusiastic about getting again out on court docket and competing. I all the time love beginning my season in Brisbane and may’t wait to return,” Osaka stated in an announcement. It “will set me up for an excellent comeback this summer season.”
Osaka was born in Japan and moved to the US along with her dad and mom when she was 3. She hasn’t competed on tour since an occasion in Tokyo in September 2022, shortly after she misplaced within the first spherical of the US Open.
Australian Open officers introduced final month that Osaka could be within the discipline for the yr’s first main beginning Jan. 14.
