Naomi Osaka ousts tenth seed Jelena Ostapenko to kick off 2024 US Open comeback

NEW YORK—Naomi Osaka lit up Louis Armstrong Stadium to kick off her 2024 US Open campaign, posting a strong 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko, her first in Flushing Meadows since becoming a mother.

The two-time champion missed last year’s tournament while on maternity leave, giving birth to daughter Shai in July, and has made the US Open a focal point of her comeback since returning to action in January.

“I'm kind of setting myself up for September anyway,” she said after losing a heartbreaking Roland Garros second round to Iga Swiatek.

Dressed in an eye-catching ensemble that serves as the day version of the “Lolita goth” dress she previewed before the tournament, Osaka made good on that promise in some style on Tuesday, shocking the No. 10 seed in one hour and four minutes to reach the second round.

A former world No. 1, Osaka arrived to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with minimal match play, losing in the second round of the National Bank Open and failing to qualify for the Cincinnati Open’s main draw.

“I have such vivid memories of watching my favorite players,” she said of the US Open at her Media Day press conference. “It's more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy.”

Following a three-set defeat to American Ashlyn Kreuger, Osaka posted a heartfelt message on social media, opening up about dealing with possible symptoms of post-partum depression.

“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, the tennis racquet should feel like an extension of my hand,” she wrote. “I don’t understand why everything has to feel almost brand new again. This should be as simple as breathing to me but it’s not and I genuinely did not give myself grace for that fact until just now.”

Indeed, Osaka had shown flashes of brilliance throughout her 2024 comeback but had precious little to show for it, losing before the second week of the first three major tournaments despite holding a match point against Swiatek in Paris.

Drawing Ostapenko in the first round looked to be yet another hurdle for Osaka, who noted the 2017 Roland Garros champion was one of her favorites to watch.

“I think we are polar opposites in a way. Yeah, I respect her a lot. She was the first player in our generation to win a Grand Slam,” Osaka said of Ostapenko, who was also born in 1997. “She's a champion. I'm really looking forward to it.”

Osaka rose her level to match the occasion, putting together a strong serving performance through the first set and scoring the lone break to put herself six games from the second round.

Ostapenko has been through her own ups and downs since winning her first major title days after her 20th birthday, but the powerful Latvian has largely enjoyed a return to form in the last two years, returning to the Top 10 and arriving to the US Open with a new coaching voice in former French Open champion Iva Majoli.

Still, Ostapenko struggled to wrest momentum from Osaka as she fell behind another break to open the second set. She narrowly avoided a double-break deficit in the fifth game but couldn’t make in-roads on return and Osaka gamely served her way to a set and 4-2 advantage.

Osaka kept pressing and earned her double-break, giving herself two chances to serve out the match. Ostapenko put on a brave last stand, opening up a 15-40 lead with help from a well-struck forehand return. Osaka saved both break points and shook off two missed match points to convert a third with an outstanding forehand winner.

Things won’t get easier for Osaka in the second round as she next gets an entirely different opponent in Karolina Muchova. A semifinalist in 2023, Muchova has missed much of the season due to injuries but scored a 6-3, 7-5 win over American Katie Volynets earlier on Day 2.