"So excited": Naomi Osaka confirms Brisbane International as first tournament back in 2024

Naomi Osaka has confirmed that her return to the sport in 2024 will begin in the first week of January at the Brisbane International.

The former World No. 1 has been absent from the WTA Tour for almost a year after she withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open and announced that she was pregnant with her first child. In July, Osaka gave birth to her daughter Shai and has since been seen training as she prepares to return to the WTA Tour.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has two Australian Open titles to her name, has already stated her goal to return at the 2024 edition of the Slam in Melbourne but now it is clear that she feels ready to compete prior to this, most likely in an effort to readjust to tournaments ahead of the major.

The Brisbane International is a WTA 500 event that began in 2009 and boasts some of the biggest names in the sport among its former champions, including Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, and Victoria Azarenka.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tournament was moved to Adelaide in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but has been confirmed as back on the WTA calendar in 2024. Moreover, Osaka's return will certainly be a good way of drawing in fans for the first Brisbane International in three years.

The tournament announced Osaka's return on its official social media page: "Back on court and back in BRISBANE! We are so ready for your return, @naomiosaka," they wrote. The Japanese player was quick to respond by expressing her excitement at launching her comeback at the event in Australia, "First tournament next year, so excited, I haven’t been to Brisbane in a while," she replied.

Osaka has been keeping her fans updated with videos of her training and has reunited with several members of her former team ahead of her return. This includes German performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger, who recently called Osaka "super motivated",  adding that "she wants to get back to world No. 1, she wants to win Grand Slams."