Featured Video

Bold MLB Predictions for Second-Half

CORRECTION / Japan's Naomi Osaka serves against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko during their women's singles first round match on day two of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: Jelena Ostapenko] instead of [Jelena Jankovic]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require." (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Video: Naomi Osaka Reflects on 'Stressful' Win over No. 10 Ostapenko at 2024 US Open

Timothy RappAug 28, 2024

Naomi Osaka defeated No. 10 Jeļena Ostapenko during the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, 6-3, 6-2, her first win at the tournament since 2021.

TOP NEWS

After the match, she noted that it was hardly an easy victory.

"It was stressful," she said. "She was hitting some really good shots. I just told myself, keep going, keep fighting for every point, and maybe you'll have an opportunity. And eventually I did."

Osaka, who didn't play in 2023 due to the birth of her daughter, was emotional upon her return to the U.S. Open.

"I was trying not to cry when I was walking out," she said in her post-match interview. "Last year I was watching Coco (Gauff) play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again. I didn't know if I could... just to win this match and just to be in this atmosphere means so much to me."

Osaka, 26, has won two of her threw Grand Slam singles titles at the U.S. Open, last conquering New York in 2020. She came into this year's tournament excited to be back.

"I made a promise to myself to be as confident as I can in the fact that I am who I am," she told reporters ahead of the U.S. Open. "I feel like, for me, throughout the year I have had really hard matches, and it kind of dipped my confidence a little. I wouldn't say that I played bad tennis. I just would say that I played really good players, and I also learned a lot."

"I do think coming to this specific tournament helps me out," she continued. "But also, whenever I step foot here, I don't really think about the two tournaments I won. I just think about how I felt when I was a kid. It's more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy."

She also came out with a memorable fit for her U.S Open return:

It won't get easier for Osaka, who has another tough matchup in the second round against Karolína Muchová on Thursday. But if nothing else, she just seems happy to be back on the courts at the U.S. Open once again.