Naomi Osaka showed that she is on the road to recovery from the abdominal injury that forced her out of the Australian Open in January, but getting sharp and match tough is going to take a little more time. Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, lost to Camila Osorio of Colombia, the world No. 53, in straight sets Wednesday night (6-4, 6-4) in the first round of Indian Wells.
Osaka, ranked 56th, and Osorio were dead even through the first eight games, but Osaka committed a flurry of errors while serving at 4-4. It gave Osorio the chance to serve out the set, and the spunky Colombian didn’t waste it.
The game was a microcosm of the match. Osaka committed errors every which way. Balls flew long and wide. Some missed by a few inches. Others missed by a few feet.
Osaka made the finals in Auckland and was rolling against Clara Tauson when she aggravated an abdominal injury and had to retire after the first set. Osaka played some of her best tennis since her return from maternity leave at the beginning of 2024 through 2 1/2 matches at the Australian Open, including a win over Karolina Muchova, one of the world’s top players.
Then, Osaka strained the muscle again and had to retire from her third-round match with Belinda Bencic after the first set. She had dominated Bencic until the injury.
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