Andy Roddick recently gave his thoughts on Naomi Osaka’s comeback, highlighting that many have taken her “greatness for granted” since her return.
Osaka returned to the tennis court this year after a 15-month break after giving birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023. Her last match was at the Japan Open in September 2022, where she had to withdraw from her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia due to illness. The four-time Grand Slam champion also missed the 2023 Australian Open due to her pregnancy.
Since her return, Osaka’s performance has been underwhelming. She started her season at the Brisbane International, where she was eliminated in the second round by Karolina Pliskova. At the Australian Open, she suffered a first-round loss to Caroline Garcia. Her struggles continued at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she was defeated in the first round by Danielle Collins.
Despite these setbacks, Naomi Osaka showed flashes of her former self at the Qatar Open, reaching the quarterfinals. Along the way, she defeated Caroline Garcia, Petra Martic, and Lesia Tsurenko to advance to the last eight. Her run in Doha ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to Karolina Pliskova.
In the latest episode of the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Roddick mentioned that despite her lackluster performances, Osaka is displaying promising signs by competing in “tough matches” early in her comeback.
“I actually think she’s probably ahead of schedule because you can play those tough matches and actually pull a couple out pretty early in a comeback. That’s kind of a big deal to have your body actually go through a couple of weeks in a row. I was kind of really, really happy when she talked, pre-Australia, about, “I’m going to play a very full schedule.” If she gets the reps and can get back, I don’t question the tennis. The ball striking looked phenomenal,” Andy Roddick said (at 12:20).
