Four-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Naomi Osaka will make her highly anticipated return to tennis at the restored Brisbane International.
Delighted officials confirmed on Friday that they had selected Osaka as their most prized draw card for the Australian Open warm-up event from December 31 to January 7.
Former world number ones and multiple Grand Slam winners Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka also feature in a star-studded lineup that will once again grace Pat Rafter Arena.
A two-time Australian Open and US Open champion, Osaka was surprisingly and mysteriously withdrawn from the Melbourne Park major tournament last year before later revealing she was pregnant.
The Japanese superstar and her American rapper boyfriend Cordae welcomed their daughter Shai in Los Angeles in July.
“Well that was a nice little break, now let’s get back to your regular schedule,” Osaka posted on social media.
“I can’t wait to get back on the field.”
The 26-year-old is the latest in a string of tennis mums, including former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, to announce their return to tennis.
Osaka has played just one match, let alone a single match, since the 2021 US Open in New York.
She was leading 1-0 over Daria Gavrilova at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2021 before the Australian tore her ACL.
Osaka then withdrew from her second-round match before taking time out to have her first child.
“She knows she’s going to maximise her preparation for Melbourne. It was an easy conversation but I’m delighted to have her back,” Brisbane International Tournament Director Cam Pearson said.
“To relaunch her career after becoming a mother, we couldn’t be happier that she chose Brisbane.”
Choosing Osaka as the headliner is a fitting addition for the return of the Brisbane International, which has not been staged since 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the tournament to be removed from the international schedule.
But with a long list of heavyweight champions including Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Azarenka, Murray, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios, it has always been one of the most popular events of the year.
Pearson is also delighted to welcome Murray back, five years after the great Scot tearfully announced he was likely to play his last Australian Open due to a chronic hip injury.
“It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?” Pearson said.
“For him to come back from that period and jump on that field will be great for him. It’s unbelievable that he’s still active.”
“He’s a bionic man, isn’t he? He has a real love of the game and I think he’ll keep playing until he loses that.”
PAA
