"When Naomi Osaka was playing great, it was hard to win vs her" - Iga Swiatek extols Japanese's resilience, delighted by her return to action
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek heaped praise on former top-ranked player Naomi Osaka, who made her post-pregnancy comeback at the Brisbane International. Osaka beat Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 (9) in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament.
The former World No. 1 made her return to tennis after a 15-month maternity break. She last played at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022 before her sabbatical and gave birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023.
Swiatek, the reigning French Open Champion, spoke highly of the four-time Grand Slam winner in her post-match press conference after Poland beat Spain at the United Cup in Perth.
"Her tennis has always been great. She had ups and downs, but when she was playing great, it was hard to win vs her. She won 4 Slams in 2 years. Really amazing. She showed it's possible," Swiatek said.
Osaka, who has won all her first four Grand Slam finals, was crowned the champion at the US Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. She became the No. 1 player in January 2019 after winning the Australian Open remaining at the spot for 25 weeks.
Interestingly, Swiatek and Osaka have one thing in common: both players have won all their first four Grand Slam finals. The Polish star won the French Open in 2020, 2022 and 2023, as well as the US Open in 2022.
Swiatek added that she was looking forward to seeing Osaka again and catching up with her.
"I'm really happy she's back. I heard she's really feeling well off court, which is amazing to hear. It's going to be nice to see her and catch up," the World No. 1 said.
A look into Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek's head-to-head record
Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek have played each other on two occasions. The two have split their honours in their head-to-head encounters. While Osaka won their first tie in straight sets at the Toronto Open in 2019, Swiatek beat the Japanese star at the Miami final in 2022 in straight sets.
Both their match-ups came on hard courts. Despite their even record at tournaments, the Polish star has won more tournaments outside the Grand Slams. She has won a total of 17 career titles in singles so far, compared to seven titles for Osaka.
Swiatek won the WTA Tour Finals in 2023 and in the process reclaimed her top ranking, which she lost to reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka after her early loss at the US Open.
Naomi Osaka is currently unranked in the WTA and is using a special ranking to compete at the Australian Open. A special ranking can be used by players returning from a prolonged illness, injury lay-offs and other special circumstances like maternity leave.