Naomi Osaka's comeback struggles: Should the Japanese go the Elina Svitolina route and play lower-level tournaments?

Naomi Osaka's 2024 comeback went from bad to worse on Tuesday (February 7) as she slumped to a 5-7, 0-6 defeat to USA's Danielle Collins in the first round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. The Japanese seemingly intends to only play top-tier events despite being ranked outside the top 750 of the WTA rankings, which is something that hasn't worked out for her yet.

Osaka took a break from tennis after the 2022 US Open due to pregnancy. The 26-year-old gave birth to her daughter Shai last July, returning to the practice courts immediately after. She announced a few weeks later that she would make her much-awaited comeback at the 2024 Brisbane International, taking a wildcard entry into the WTA 500 tournament.

Naomi Osaka started her season on a good note, winning her first match back, against Germany's Tamara Korpatsch, in straight sets. The four-time Major winner looked on course for back-to-back victories in the second round as she led former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova by a set. However, the Czech made a comeback to win the match 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Many felt the Japanese star would have benefitted from more court time heading into the year's first Major. She seemingly suffered from the lack of match practice at the Australian Open a few weeks later, losing to 16th-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6(2), in the first round.

Osaka's form didn't improve at this week's Abu Dhabi Open. The former World No. 1 won only five games in her first-round defeat to Collins.

Following the match, the Japanese did express some doubts about playing top-tier events, but added that she still aims to play at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami.

"I think I’m going to finish out the hard-court swing and then figure it out," Naomi Osaka said to Reem Abulleil. "I’m less confident but I’m not too unconfident to think that I can’t play really good tennis."

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Naomi Osaka might benefit from playing lower-tier events like Elina Svitolina did last year

Elina Svitolina was the epitome of consistency in the late 2010s, finishing inside the top 10 of the year-end WTA rankings from 2017 to 2020. The Ukrainian dropped to 15th in the world by 2021, before taking maternity leave in March the following year.

Svitolina returned to the sport in early 2023 after giving birth to her daughter in November 2022. The 29-year-old's ranking, however, had taken a significant hit; she had fallen outside the women's top 1000.

At her lowest ranking since turning pro, Svitolina could've very well asked for wildcards to play with the top players at 500 and 1000-level tournaments. But the Ukrainian went back to the drawing board instead.

Elina Svitolina did what Naomi Osaka couldn't

While she did receive wildcards to Madrid and Rome, Svitolina fought it out at the lower rungs of women's tennis as well. She chose to play at a WTA 125k tournament in France and ITF $60k and $100k events in Switzerland and Portugal, respectively.

Svitolina had no qualms about playing at lower-tier events, as she realized she needed some match practice before she would challenge the top rungs of WTA. The new mother's plan of action came to fruition shortly, as she got her ranking back in the top 200 midway through the season.

Svitolina then reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 French Open against all odds, before going out to the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. She followed her run on the terre battue with her second semi-final finish at Wimbledon, where she lost to eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova.

By virtue of her Majors flourish, Elina Svitolina re-entered the top 30 of the rankings. She has only gone from strength to strength since then, finishing as the runner-up at this year's ASB Classic to top seed Coco Gauff.

Naomi Osaka can perhaps adopt a thing or two from her Ukrainian colleague's playbook if she hopes to make a quick return to the top. The four-time Major winner is in dire need of match fitness and confidence, which will be tough to come by if she continues to play the top-tier events.