February 06, (THEWILL) – Former world number one Naomi Osaka’s return to the WTA Tour after a 15-month break has hit another bump in the road, with the 26-year-old suffering a straight sets loss to Danielle Collins, in the first round of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open, on Tuesday.
Osaka, who gave birth to her first child during her time away, won the opening set but fell away dramatically to lose 7-5, 6-0 to the American qualifier in just over 80 minutes. It marks the third defeat in four matches for Osaka since coming back last month.
“I know she’s still only a couple of matches into her comeback. But I think she’s playing well,” said Collins, currently ranked 71st. “She played a good first set and was serving very well. I’m sure it’s just regaining confidence and getting more matches, which can be challenging.”
The two players were evenly matched early in windy conditions, but Collins earned the first service break to take the opening set. She then stormed through the second set without dropping a game, converting all six break points she earned.
Collins, who is planning to retire after this season, attributed her decision to wanting to live a normal life off the Tour. Her next opponent is top seed and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
