Success for returning mothers as Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber all reach Round Three at Indian Wells

Successful comeback at Indian Wells for recent mothers Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, and Angelique Kerber. One of the intriguing factors this year is the return of several prominent players after breaks due to pregnancy, and all of them managed to advance to the third round.

The four players entered the tournament with past success at Tennis Paradise but had to prove themselves on the court after some time away from the tour.

The most recent comebacks have been from Osaka (No. 287) and Kerber (No. 607), both returning to the Tour at the beginning of 2024. With only a few tournaments under their belts, they arrived in California and have showcased a high level of play. The Japanese player, the 2018 champion (victory over Daria Kasatkina), navigated through her early rounds against Sara Errani (No. 100) and the 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova, securing her second win over a top-15 player this year.

A similar story is unfolding for Kerber, absent throughout 2023, who has already eliminated Petra Martic (No. 58) and the 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko from the tournament. The German reached the final in 2019 but fell to Bianca Andreescu.

The former world No. 1 has always felt comfortable in her appearances at Indian Wells. The Dane was the champion in 2011 after defeating Marion Bartoli and reached two more finals in 2010 and 2013, finishing as the runner-up to Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova, respectively. Wozniacki (No. 204) played three tournaments in 2023 during the US hardcourt swing with impressive performances.

However, this is her first time at Tennis Paradise since 2019, and she has already secured consecutive victories against Zhu Lin (No. 62) and the 25th seed Donna Vekic.

As for Svitolina, she has spent more time back on the Tour than her counterparts. The Ukrainian returned during the clay season of 2023 and delivered strong performances in a few tournaments, including reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon. She entered Indian Wells as the 16th seed. After skipping the first round, she defeated Katerina Siniakova (No. 41) in her debut and faces a tough challenge against Emma Navarro (No. 23) for a spot in the fourth round.