Naomi Osaka exited from the first round of the Australian Open on Monday with a 6-4, 7-6(2) loss to French 16th seed Caroline Garcia.
The former world No. 1 from Japan was making her Grand Slam return after the birth of her first child, a daughter, last July.
Osaka, a two-time champion at Melbourne Park, had not played a major since the 2022 U.S. Open, having taken a sabbatical to prioritize her mental health before becoming a mother.
She received a huge cheer upon entering Rod Laver Arena and had the crowd behind her as she showed glimpses of her best in a convincing comeback performance.
Garcia gained the upper hand in the tight battle by securing the match's only break of serve at 2-2 in the first set.
The close second set came down to a tie-break, which saw the Frenchwoman pulling clear before sealing the match when Osaka sent a backhand into the net.
Garcia was full of praise for Osaka after the victory, which sets her up for a second-round meeting with Poland's Magdalena Frech.
"I have a lot of respect for Naomi Osaka as a person and as a player. We all know she's had an amazing career," Garcia said. "She's been away for 15 months and been through a lot. I'm just very glad to see her back."
The four-time Grand Slam winner had returned to the court before the Australian Open at the Brisbane International, where she lost to fellow former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the second round.
In men's singles, Japan's Taro Daniel lost 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to American Christopher Eubanks, while Yosuke Watanuki went down 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.
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