Naomi Osaka captures first WTA title since maternity break in France

SAINT MALO (France): Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka secured her first WTA Tour level title since her maternity break, bagging the L’Open 35 De Saint Malo in France on Sunday.

The four-time Grand Slam champion secured the WTA 125 title, defeating Slovenia’s unseeded Kaja Juvan 6-1, 7-5 in the final on Sunday. The second-seeded star did face any seeded player on her road to the title, as per Olympics.com.

This victory in France marks Osaka’s first clay title win and eighth singles title of her career, having also won two Australian Open and two US Open crowns each. This is 27-year-old’s first title since her previous major win, the 2021 Australian Open win.

The former world number one will be now rising to 48 in the WTA Rankings on Monday, which will be her best in last three months. She will also be the main draw during the upcoming grand slam event, the French Open, starting from May 25 onwards.

Osaka gave birth to her daughter in July 2023. Following this, she made her return to the WTA Tour at the start of the 2024 season after spending time away from the game since September 2022.

The two-time Olympian was the final torchbearer at her home Games in Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), and featured in Paris 2024 Olympics where she made the first round. (ANI)