Naomi Osaka is set to return to competition at Indian Wells, where she will face Camila Osorio in the first round—her first match since retiring injured at the Australian Open.
The former world No. 1 started the year strong, reaching the Auckland final, but an abdominal injury forced her to retire against Clara Tauson.
Although she pushed through the Australian Open, winning her first two matches, it was evident she wasn’t at full strength, leading to a third-round mid-match retirement.
After skipping the Middle East swing to recover, Osaka is now fully fit and making her sixth Indian Wells appearance, where she previously won the 2018 title by defeating Daria Kasatkina.
Osaka has faced Osorio once before, winning their 2022 Australian Open clash 6-3, 6-3. A victory here would set up a rematch with Tauson, her Auckland final opponent, where she won the first set 6-4 before retiring. After that match, the Danish player expressed sympathy for Osaka’s situation.
“I have to say that I’m really sorry about this final. Naomi was playing some great tennis today, so that was the worst final I ever played, for me, emotionally,” Tauson claimed after the Auckland final.
For Osaka, a rematch against Tauson would be an opportunity to rewrite the Auckland story—this time on her own terms. A win could offer some closure and a confidence boost as she looks to build momentum in her return.
17-Year-Old Phenom Andreeva Will Become World No. 1 Says Roddick
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick believes Mirra Andreeva is destined to reach the top spot on the WTA Tour.
Andreeva, often compared to Coco Gauff, has emerged as the latest teenage sensation in women’s tennis. While Gauff broke through at 15, Andreeva followed a similar path and has already left her mark.
The Russian star recently became the youngest player ever to win a WTA 1000 title, claiming the Dubai Championships with victories over elite opponents like Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.
Her rapid rise has caught the attention of the tennis world, including Roddick, who shared his belief on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast that Andreeva will inevitably become World No. 1.
“Mirra Andreeva is going to be number one in the world at some point. I watched her more this week continuously – because normally it’s in a Slam. But she serves so much better than people give her credit for, and it’s only going to get better.”
Roddick acknowledged that he initially had doubts about Andreeva, particularly regarding her physicality. However, her impressive victories over Swiatek and Rybakina proved him wrong.
“What I worried about was that she is not one of the physical phenom specimens of a [Jennifer] Capriati or a [Lindsay] Davenport or a Venus [Williams] or a Serena [Williams]. The one I can think of who is a phenom not in the too distant past is [Martina] Hingis, who then got overpowered.”
“So Andreeva, is she going to be able to create enough pace to not get overpowered by [Aryna] Sabalenka or Swiatek? She has beaten both of them.”
Roddick had endless praise for Andreeva and her exceptional level of play. He also credited her coach, Conchita Martinez, for doing an outstanding job in guiding the young Russian talent.
“She is an elite mover already, she creates enough pace and what I am going to talk about that nobody does. Her ability to play against people’s movement makes her shots bigger. She doesn’t have to go big to go through you.”
“Her preparation is good enough where she can pull the ripcord and play behind the women that she’s playing against consistently. And if the rally builds she can stay in it and tee up. She has options. IQ beyond her years – Conchita Martinez has done an amazing job guiding the ship. But she serves great.”
“I was watching her and thinking why is nobody talking about this? Maybe it is like it can improve things and she has 30% runway in physicality, she is going to get bigger, stronger and faster. It’s not as if it is going to go the other way.”
