© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Andy Roddick thinks Naomi Osaka is “ahead of schedule” and her team has several reasons to be “thrilled” with where the four-time Grand Slam champion is just two months after launching her post-pregnancy comeback.
Osaka, 26, played her last tournament of the 2022 season in September of that year and then missed the entire 2023 season due to pregnancy. After being out for 16 months, Osaka returned to action at the start of the 2024 season and she has played four tournaments since.
In Australia, Osaka went 1-2 but those two defeats came in matches where she was very competitive against two very strong opponents – former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcoa, respectively. After losing her last two matches in Australia and also losing to Danielle Collins in the Abu Dhabi first round, Osaka bounced back at last week’s opening WTA 1000 tournament of the season in Doha, where she made the quarterfinal.
In Doha, Osaka beat Garcia in the first round and went on to reach the quarterfinal before losing to Pliskova in two tight tie-breaks.
Looking at Osaka’s tennis, 2003 US Open champion Roddick believes it is still there. If Osaka gets the reps and is able to fully regain her fitness and…
