
After defeating Alycia Parks at the Auckland Classic, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka advanced to her first final since 2022 and her maternity leave.
At the ASB Classic in New Zealand, Osaka defeated Alycia Parks in straight sets to advance to her first WTA final since 2022 and since she resumed playing tennis last year following the birth of her first child.
The four-time Grand Slam champion advanced to Sunday’s final, where she will play Clara Tauson of Denmark, after defeating Parks 6-4 6-2.
After defeating Belinda Bencic at the 2022 Miami Open and falling to Iga Swiatek in the championship match, Osaka was participating in her first semifinal since then.
She is going to try to win her first championship since the Australian Open in 2021.
On Sunday in New Zealand, Osaka will play Clara Tauson of Denmark in the championship match.
Shortly before the 2023 Australian Open, the Japanese tennis star revealed she was pregnant and announced she was retiring from the sport.
Osaka returned to the court at the 2024 Brisbane International, but she had a hard time getting back to her best last year.
With her victory in the semi-final, Osaka, who was ranked 57th going into Auckland, returned to the top 50 of the WTA Live Rankings.
“Of course I’m really happy to get through to the final, but I’ve actually never got to the final of a tournament the week before Melbourne, so this is a career-first for me,” Osaka said after the game.
“I think in my head I’m always happy there’s things to constantly improve or get better, no matter how old you are.”