Japan's Naomi Osaka celebrates after defeating United States' Jennifer Brady during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021.(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
2018 Champion Osaka is making a special return to the tournament where she won her maiden title
Japanese tennis star, Naomi Osaka is all set to make a return to the Indian Wells, an ATA 1000 event. The tournament organizing committee announced that the 2018 champion has been given a Wild Card entry. Osaka, a Grand Slam Champion is currently ranked World No. 82 after taking a break from competitive tennis in 2021 citing mental health issues.
The 24-year old is a four-time grand slam champion and is one of the biggest names in World Tennis. She is one of the leading sportspersons who is playing a pivotal in normalizing anxiety disorder issues among sportspersons. Osaka took a 3-month break from the sport in 2021 and made a grand come back last month.
She won the Melbourne Summer Set, her first tournament since the break.
Osaka won her maiden singles title at the Indian Wells in 2018, part of a golden run that saw her lifting her 1st ever grand slam title, the US Open. Since then, the Japanese has gone on to win 4 Grand Slams including 2 US Open titles. Her love for the Californian venue is clear. “To return to the Indian Wells where I won my first big title, it’s special. It was special in 2018 and it will be special again this March.
Naomi Osaka’s influence goes well beyond sports. At such a young age, she has influenced the lives of millions of women and men across the world. She has been very vocal about normalizing mental health issues and many sportspersons across the world have followed her path.
She was fittingly one of the torch bearers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony. At the Indian Wells, a WTA 1000 event, Osaka will face the other torchbearers of Women’s tennis in Australian Open Champion, Ashleigh Barty, defending champion, Paula Badosa and US Open Champion Emma Raducanu.
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