Naomi Osaka to come back at 2022 Australian Open warm-up tournament
The Olympian and 2019 Australian open winner, Naomi Osaka, looks to be making a return after an indefinite break from tennis.
Tennis
The long-awaited return to action for tennis star Naomi Osaka looks to be just around the corner. The former world number one is scheduled to play at an Australian Open warm-up tournament in 2022 ahead of the Grand Slam itself. The four-time Grand Slam champion last won the Australian Open in 2019.
Organisers also confirmed reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep in the field for the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set.
It would be Osaka's first competitive appearance since losing to eventual 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. She kick-started a wider discussion about mental health when she skipped a press conference at the French Open in May, 2021.
She missed Wimbledon but represented Japan at the Olympics where she lit Olympic cauldron at the Opening Ceremony. She exited the Games in the third round to Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova.