Naomi Osaka's return to tennis ended earlier than many anticipated on Friday, with unseeded American Amanda Anisimova eliminating the defending champion from the 2022 Australian Open.
Osaka won the first set but lost the next two for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) defeat in her first major tennis tournament since losing in the US Open third round to Canadian Leylah Fernandez on Sept. 3.
"Definitely I think I fought for every point. I can't be sad about that. I'm not God. I can't win every match, so I just have to that into account and know that it would be nice to win the tournament, but that's like really special, and I can't think of myself to try and win the grand slam at the start of the year every time," Osaka said in her press conference. "For me, I feel like I grew a lot in this match. The last match that I played in New York, I think I had a completely different attitude, so I'm really happy, of course I lost, but I'm happy with how it went."
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The last time Osaka was on the court, she was upset by Fernandez in Flushing Meadows and was openly frustrated during the match, throwing her racket on the court and receiving a code violation for hitting a ball into the stands. Following the September match, she said she needed to step away from the sport for a while. She said winning felt like more of a relief and that she felt very sad after losing.
Osaka had previously played a round in the French Open last June, but withdrew from the tournament, citing her need to focus on her mental health. She did not play in Wimbledon, and did not return until the Olympics, where she lit the cauldron in her native Japan. She participated in the Summer Games, but lost in the third round.
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Osaka was asked on Friday following her loss how she prepared for the possibility of losing while she was away from the sport, and she responded that it has been a return to basics, of sorts, for the world-class tennis star. She said she knows that every time she plays someone, she is going to get the best out of her opponent and that she has to take that into account to her game.
"I also know that like there are days that I'm going to have bad days and there are days that I'm going to have great days," Osaka said. "It's always random and I never know, but no matter what happens for me, I just want to leave the court knowing that I fought for every point. And today of course, there are things I felt I could improve on, but even with that, I had two match points and I think that's something that I can be proud of myself for."
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Leading up to the Australian Open, Osaka participated in the Melbourne Summer Set 1, a warmup tournament to help tennis players prepare for the grand slam event.
Osaka said her coach, Wim Fissette thought not having played in a while had an impact on her performance Friday, but that for her, it wasn't a reason for the early loss.
"Wim said it probably did because I didn't play a person that served and returned like really well, so he said if I played people that returned as well as she did before, maybe I would have been more prepared," Osaka said. "But those are the choices that I made so I have nothing relaly to like blame. I wouldn't really say it's blaming, but I know that inside, I tried the best that I could."
Following the match, Osaka said she wasn't sure when she would play next, and that she needs to figure out whether her body is prepared for more matches or if she needs more practice.
