Naomi Osaka enjoys her time in Chicago ahead of Indian Wells Open, gives a shoutout to the city
Naomi Osaka is spending some time traveling before she is back in action at the Indian Wells Open.
The Japanese posted a story on Instagram, where she said she was enjoying her time exploring the city of Chicago. In the story, Osaka also showed off Chicago's popular skyscrapers.
"S/0 to being in Chicago for 8 hours and exploring the city by myself because I've literally never seen the sights."
Naomi Osaka made a return to the tour this year after missing a large chunk of the 2021 season citing burnout and needing time to adequately deal with her mental health. The 24-year-old started 2022 in the Melbourne Summer Set, where she was the top seed. She began the tournament with a hard-fought win over Alize Cornet followed with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Maryna Zanevska to reach the quarterfinals where she beat Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-5.
Osaka was scheduled to meet Veronika Kudermetova in the semifinals but she withdrew before the match due to fitness reasons. The Japanese player entered the Australian Open as the defending champion and won her opening match against Camila Osorio in straight sets. She then beat Madison Brengle in straight sets to set up a third-round match against Amanda Anisimova.
The World No. 80 took the opening set 6-4 but the American bounced back to win the second 6-3. She had two match points in the third set but Anisimova saved it and eventually beat her to reach the fourth round of the tournament. As a result, her ranking fell to 85th.
Naomi Osaka received a wildcard for the Indian Wells Open
The 24-year-old has received a wildcard for the upcoming Indian Wells Open due to her low ranking as a result of her inaction last year.
"To return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the place where I won my first big event, is special. It was special in 2018 and it will be special again this March," Osaka said.
2018 champion ➡️🌴
@naomiosaka is awarded a wild card and returns to #TennisParadise March 7-20🔥 https://t.co/cz01Hh14Qi
The former World No.1 will also compete at the Eisenhower Cup, a tiebreak exhibition tournament that will be played during the Indian Wells Open. She will be joined by the likes of Simona Halep, Paula Badosa, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Ons Jabeur.
Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep headline Eisenhower Cup 2022, the Tie Break Tens exhibition tournament to be played at Indian Wells dlvr.it/SKl4nz
Osaka is currently ranked 80th and will be looking to fight her way back to the top of the game.