Naomi Osaka at the 2024 French Open. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Former world women's tennis number one and four-time Grand Slam winner, Naomi Osaka, will return to the ASB Classic in Auckland this summer.
The Japanese 26-year-old made her return to tennis this year after nearly two years which included the birth of her daughter Shai. She will come back to Auckland for the first time since playing at the ASB Tennis Arena in 2017.
"I am looking forward to just embracing the nature of Auckland and of course, playing in a tournament that I have not played in for a long time," Osaka said.
"I am excited to return to Auckland. When I was there last time, I was fortunate to go on a helicopter tour and explore the beaches which I thought were really beautiful .
"My other memory is that Auckland has the best salmon."
Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka during the 2017 ASB Classic in Auckland. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin said the tournament is excited to host Osaka back in Auckland.
"Naomi is one of the premier players in tennis, with an exciting and hard-hitting game," he said. "It is always challenging to return to this sport after extensive time away, but Naomi has shown some extremely promising form.
"She has an immensely powerful game and plays an exciting brand of tennis. Many believe Naomi will re-emerge at the top of the sport, and that journey for the 2025 season will start here in Auckland."
Osaka became the first player in three decades to win each of her first four Grand Slam finals, winning the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 and the US Open in 2018 and 2020, along with titles in Osaka, Beijing and Indian Wells.
It led to her awarded the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year in 2021, and selected to light the cauldron at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
She made her WTA debut in 2013 and made her first main draw debut in 2014 when she beat Sam Stosur in Stanford in the first round. Osaka was voted newcomer of the year in 2016 when she made her first WTA final in Tokyo and in 2021, she became just the 16th player to win four or more Majors in the Open era.
She joins New Zealand's Lulu Sun as the first players confirmed for the tournament, and Lamperin expects to confirm further top-ranked players in the next few weeks.