"I feel like every year I go through that specific injury" - Off the sidelines and back in the winning enclosure - Naomi Osaka looks forward to injury-free 2026

Naomi Osaka has been out of the sport for over a month after picking up a fresh injury at the Australian Open. She has now marked her return with a positive 7-5, 6-2 victory over Andorran qualifier Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva to kick off her 2026 Indian Wells campaign. While there were concerns heading into the match, she was 'grateful' to come out on top.

The injury came after the dramatic second round clash against Sorana Cirstea where a slight bust-up at the net caused a stir on and off the court. In events not related to that, Osaka pulled out of the event she had won two times with an abdominal injury.

This setback saw her miss out on competing in the first two WTA 1000 tournaments of the year in Qatar and Dubai, but she was raring to go for the first part of an action-packed Sunshine swing.

The build up to Indian Wells has not been the smoothest for the Japanese number one, who had to get over the disappointment of another injury that kept her away from the court, and one possibly preventable with the amount of times she has done it.

"It wasn't, like, too positive," she stated after the match. "I was really disappointed (at the Australian Open), because it's something that I have done to myself before, and I feel like every year I go through that specific injury."

This is starting to become a yearly trend for the former world number one, who is getting fed up of continuously being held back by it. "Every year I can kind of feel it starting to happen," she admitted. "I was just really disappointed in myself, and then ironically, we were training and I injured myself - I did another injury."

That being said, wishful thinking hoped that she would not get anymore injuries for the rest of the year and is able to have a consistent streak of competing in the top events with much success possibly waiting. "Hopefully, that's enough injuries for the whole year," Osaka said. "I'm just grateful to be out here and be playing."

This is the venue where Osaka won her maiden WTA 1000 title, defeating Daria Kasatkina in 2018 for glory. She followed that up with a fourth round showing, but that has been about it since.

She was forced to come in at the first round stage last year due to her ranking, and was in for a nasty surprise when she lost 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio, describing it as the "worst match I've ever played in my life." It was a first round one exit in this category of competition since the 2022 Cincinnati Open, and she was not prepared to let the same thing occur again.

Jimenez Kasintseva had been making headlines recently, becoming the first Andorran to breach the top 100 in the world. The 20-year-old has a bright future in the sport and will be hoping that she is able to live up to that potential. In her debut campaign at Indian Wells, she took down Katie Boulter enroute to qualifying for it before defeating Catherine McNally to set up a tie against Osaka.

There were reasons for Osaka to be slightly nervous, but in the end she was a level above on court. This shows when she stormed into a 4-0 lea, missing the chance to make it 5-0. Jimenez Kasintseva got one of the breaks back before Osaka missed three set points, being punished a game later as Jimenez Kasintseva got it back on serve. The four-time Grand Slam champion instantly replied with another break of her own before with her sixth set point taking a crucial lead.

It was a much more comfortable second set. After going 2-1 down on serve, Osaka steamrolled her opponent out of the competition. The 28-year-old won the next five games to advance into the next round, eternally grateful that it was not the same result as of a year ago. "Last year I didn't do too well here, so I think I already exceeded the previous year. So I just hope that I can keep going," she said.

Now that chance has cropped up turn those prior wrongs into rights. Osorio is her third round opponent after taking down the hugely impressive Iva Jovic. Osaka will be motivated to do a lot better than last time as she looks to make more progress in this tournament.