WATCH: Naomi Osaka shows off her backhand drills in practice session as she prepares for 2024 comeback

S Shahi
Naomi Osaka practices on the court as she gears up for 2024 season
Naomi Osaka practices on the court as she gears up for 2024 season

Naomi Osaka recently shared a clip displaying her backhand skills on the court as she gets ready for her 2024 comeback.

Osaka has been away from the competitive scene since September 2022, when she last participated in the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She was forced to withdraw before her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia, due to an abdominal illness.

The 26-year-old announced her pregnancy after withdrawing from the 2023 Australian Open earlier this year. She and her rapper boyfriend Cordae welcomed a baby girl named Shai, in July.

Osaka posted the clip on her Instagram story on Thursday, November 30, in which she can be seen hitting backhands. The video showed her wearing an all-black athleisure outfit.

Naomi Osaka on Instagram
Naomi Osaka on Instagram

Naomi Osaka recently confirmed her initial schedule for the 2024 season. The Japanese is slated to participate in the upcoming Brisbane International in January 2024, where she reached the semifinals twice (2019 and 2020), losing to Lesia Tsurenko and Karolina Pliskova respectively.


"She wants to get back to world No. 1, she wants to win Grand Slams" - Naomi Osaka's performance coach

Naomi Osaka at the 2022 US Open
Naomi Osaka at the 2022 US Open

Naomi Osaka’s performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger recently said he was confident that the former World No. 1 would compete for the highest prizes when she comes back in 2024.

Zitzelsberger said that Osaka had a lot of drive to dominate the women’s tour again, and then joked that he wished her rivals would be "a little bit afraid" of playing against her. He also said that the Japanese had a strong desire to be the World No. 1 in women’s tennis.

"She’s super motivated and I’m super pumped to help her," Zitzelsberger said in an interview with Tennis Channel. "She inspires the whole team with this champion mindset: she just wants to go for it. I’m hoping her opponents will read this and get a little bit afraid of her!"
“Where she is today is what makes working with her so inspiring. She wants to get back to world No. 1, she wants to win Grand Slams," he added.

Zitzelsberger also discussed Osaka’s game in detail and noted that while the former World No. 1 excelled at offense, she still had some areas to work on when defending.

“She’s obviously a great offense player, but I think things have changed in the game over the last half-decade where defense is getting more and more important. We’re working to make Naomi into a player who can transition more effectively from defense to offense. That way, even if she’s getting pushed into a defensive position, she can still strike an offensive shot," he said.

Naomi Osaka has won seven career titles on the WTA tour, including four Grand Slams (Australian Open x2 and US Open x2).

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer
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