Naomi Osaka has already confirmed her first tournament of the 2025 season as the Japanese tennis star is set to return to the ASB Classic after not playing there in nearly a decade.
On Thursday, the organizers of the WTA 500 event in Auckland announced the four-time Grand Slam champion as their first big name for next year’s edition which is slated to take place in the opening week of the new season.
For the 26-year-old, it will be her second appearance at the tournament and the first one since 2017. In her debut, the former world No. 1 reached the quarterfinal – where she lost the opening three games to Anja Konjuh before retiring injured.
Also, this will mark the first time Osaka playing in New Zealand since welcoming baby girl Shai in 2022. And while the seven-time WTA champion will be hoping to do well on the court, she is also excited about returning to a city where she made some nice memories seven years ago.
“I am looking forward to just embracing the nature of Auckland and of course, playing in a tournament that I have not played in for a long time. I am excited to return to Auckland. When I was there last time, I was fortunate to go on a helicopter tour and explore the beaches which I thought were really beautiful. My other memory is that Auckland has the best salmon,” Osaka said in a statement.
Naomi Osaka© YouTube screenshot
Osaka will very likely face some tough competition in Auckland
Over the years, some of the biggest names have played on the hard courts of Auckland and that will likely be the case again in 2025. In the last two tournament editions, Coco Gauff won back-to-back titles. Also, the likes of Elina Svitolina, Emma Raducanu, Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Navarro used the WTA 500 tournament in New Zealand as their preparation for this year’s Australian Open.
In 2020, the ASB Classic was famously the tournament where Serena Williams won her first post-pregnancy title.
While Osaka is currently the only major name confirmed for Auckland, there is no doubt that more will follow – most likely Gauff who seems to absolutely love playing at the ASB Classic. And tournament director Nicolas Lamperin didn’t hide his excitement when sharing the latest news.
“Naomi is one of the premier players in tennis, with an exciting and hard-hitting game. It is always challenging to return to this sport after extensive time away, but Naomi has shown some extremely promising form. She has an immensely powerful game and plays an exciting brand of tennis. Many believe Naomi will re-emerge at the top of the sport, and that journey for the 2025 season will start here in Auckland,” Lamperin said.
Why Osaka will be determined to make a strong Auckland run in her first tournament of 2025
For the start of the 2024 season, the four-time Grand Slam champion picked the Brisbane International as the place to launch her post-pregnancy return. After losing in the Brisbane round-of-16 and then suffering a first-round loss to Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open, the former world No. 1 didn’t hide that she was disappointed although she was playing her first tournaments in 16 months.
“Yes and no. Like, of course I have to tell myself, Hey, like six months ago you were pregnant, stuff like that. Of course, like, there’s a voice in my head that is, Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches? I don’t know. I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyways,” Osaka said after her exit at Melbourne Park.
In the same presser, the 26-year-old even admitted that she was “delusional enough” to think she could win the opening Slam of the year after being out for such a long period.
“The competitive in me is really frustrated that I’m not winning these matches, of course. So I wouldn’t say, like, this comeback is how I thought because I’m delusional enough to think I could have won the tournament. I think my delusion is what allows me to win the tournaments (smiling),” the Japanese confessed.
Since then, Osaka hasn’t managed to rediscover her past Slam-winning form. And last week, she split with coach Wim Fissette.
“4 years, 2 Slams and a whole lot of memories. Thanks Wim for being a great coach and an even greater person, wishing you all the best,” she announced through an Instagram Story.
Since then, some rumors have claimed that Serena Williams’ ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou will be her next coach.
But in any scenario, there is no doubt that Osaka will enter 2025 determined to make a splash and potentially try to contend for her third Australian Open title.