Watch: Naomi Osaka's powerful forehand nearly hits chair umpire

Naomi Osaka at the 2022 Australian Open: Day 1

Naomi Osaka crossed her first hurdle at the 2022 Australian Open after comfortably sealing a straight-sets victory over Camila Osorio. Osaka has never lost in the first round of the Melbourne Slam.

During the last game of the match, a misdirected forehand return from the Japanese almost crashed into the chair umpire. Osaka knew her shot was off target, and could be heard apologizing immediately after she had struck it.

Video footage showed the chair umpire looking away for a moment before the shot was struck and flinching as the ball approached her. Fortunately, the ball ricocheted off the chair and hit the microphones before landing back on court. The umpire reacted in good spirits to the defending champion's apology.

Naomi Osaka receives a warm welcome at the 2022 Australian Open

Naomi Osaka is back to defend her Australian Open title after a four-month hiatus. She started her 2022 campaign at the Melbourne Summer Set two weeks ago, where she qualified for the semifinals. However, an abdomen injury forced her to withdraw from the event.

Osaka posted a tweet explaining why she withdrew from the tournament, and made it clear that she was taking precautions for the upcoming Australian Open.

"Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took. Thank you for all the love this past week. I’ll try to rest up and I’ll see you soon!" Osaka's tweet read.

Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took. Thank you for all the love this past week ❤️ I’ll try to rest up and I’ll see you soon!

Fans were elated to see the defending champion back on Rod Laver Arena and the Australian Open shared a video on their Twitter handle wishing Osaka luck. Osaka reshared the video with emoticons indicating that she was touched by the gesture.

🥺❤️👋🏾 twitter.com/australianopen…

The Japanese star will next be seen in the second round on January 19, where she is set to face Madison Brengle. The American won her first-round match after her opponent Dayana Yastremska retired in the third set.