After all the ups and downs of her 2021 season, Naomi Osaka has touched down in Melbourne for the Australian Open 2022. This comes as great news for the former World No. 1 player as she will be defending her crown Down Under.

Over the past 6 months, Naomi Osaka has been dealing with mental health issues due to which she withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon and also took a break from the Tour after the US Open. Ahead of her return to the courts in Australia, she looks in fine form to defend her title. 

Naomi Osaka looks positive on her return to the Happy Slam 

The 24-year-old player landed in Australia recently and has already started practicing on the courts. In the clip posted by the Australian Open twitter account, one can see her hitting the ball with great intensity and she played an exquisite drop shot at the end. 

Naomi is one of the most successful players to compete at the Australian Open in recent times. Over the past three seasons, she has managed to win the title twice and displayed some real dominant tennis. 

In another video, Naomi stated that she was “super excited” to play in front of the Australian crowd. She then talked about how the atmosphere and the food is great in Melbourne park. It was also great to see her smiling after the rough patch that the Japanese star has had to endure.  

Coming to the last few months of her 2021 season, she competed in the US Open but was unable to defend her title in New York. However, she’ll be looking to defend her only Slam title of 2021 at the Happy Slam. 

We hope to see a happy and healthy Osaka on the tennis courts in Melbourne Park.

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