Naomi Osaka kicks off U.S. Open comeback with emotional win over Jelena Ostapenko
Four-time tennis Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her comeback campaign Tuesday with a straight-sets win over 10th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the U.S.
Four-time tennis Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her comeback campaign Tuesday with a straight-sets win over 10th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Wearing a green ruffled skirt with a white bow tied around her waist — a custom look by Nike — Osaka made a statement well beyond her fashion: She wasn't giving up so easily after a season riddled with challenges.
In front of a packed crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City, Osaka exuded positivity, with a spring in her step as she took down her Latvian opponent — a fellow Grand Slam champion who had 11 more match wins than Osaka this year.
Osaka fought back tears as she spoke after the match, greeted by the audience's standing ovation.
"I so badly wanted to step on these courts again," she said. "I didn't know if I could. ... Just to win this match, just to be in this atmosphere, means so much to me."
Rating: 5