Naomi Osaka disappointed with 1st round exit but feels she is making progress

Listen to Story Naomi Osaka admitted that she was disappointed with her first round exit in the Australian Open 2024 but feels that she is making progress after her comeback to the court. Osaka, the former world No. 1 and four time Grand Slam champion, faced a challenging return to major tennis at the Australian Open 2024.

After a 15 month hiatus from the sport for mental health reasons and maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Shai, Osaka stepped onto Rod Laver Arena with high hopes but experienced an early exit. She was defeated in the first round by Caroline Garcia, the French 16th seed, with a scoreline of 6 4, 7 6 (7/2).

Despite showing glimpses of her renowned power game, Osaka's performance was understandably rusty, and she struggled to find her rhythm against Garcia's aggressive baseline play. The match was tightly contested, with Garcia's consistent serving and Osaka's unforced errors proving decisive.

This loss marked Osaka's third consecutive first round defeat in Grand Slams, following similar outcomes at the French and US Opens in 2022. Speaking after the loss, as quoted by Reuters, Osaka felt that it was a good match and admitted she was a bit nervous while facing Garcia. The former world number one said that she felt she was doing better as the match went on.

"I thought it was a really good match. For me, I felt like I did the best that I could possibly do," she told reporters. "I think I still feel like a bit disappointed ... I did feel nervous, but I felt like I kept telling myself to be positive. I thought I kept doing better as the match went on.

"So, yeah, I'm not too happy right now, but I think I can learn from the progress." Osaka further stated that she was overthinking a little bit in her head and constantly felt she was on the back foot during the match. "I felt like I was constantly on my back foot and really hesitant," Osaka added.

"I was a little bit overthinking in my head where to go. I think that's something that will come in time, but right now it kind of sucks a little.".