Naomi Osaka made an early exit from the Indian Wells tournament on Wednesday, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio in the first round. This was Osaka’s first tournament since she was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to injury. The former world number one, now ranked 56th, struggled to find her rhythm against Osorio, who is ranked 52nd, and had trouble with her powerful groundstrokes on a chilly night in California.
Osaka admitted that her lack of practice, especially with serving, affected her game. “I don’t feel like I played well at all, but I had chances to be in the match,” she said.
Osorio, who herself was returning from injury, took advantage of Osaka’s mistakes, using a mix of drop shots and slices. She broke Osaka in the first set and won it 6-4, then broke again in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Osaka briefly fought back, but Osorio secured the win after breaking Osaka once more in the seventh game and holding strong to win 6-4.
The victory was a dream come true for Osorio, who had never won a match at Indian Wells and became the first Colombian woman to defeat a former world number one. Osaka, who recently returned from a 15-month break after giving birth, remains hopeful about her future performances and looks forward to more practice before her next tournament in Miami.
Other notable first-round losses included two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who was defeated by France’s Varvara Gracheva in a hard-fought match. Gracheva praised Kvitova for balancing motherhood with her tennis career, calling it inspiring.
In men’s matches, Tallon Griekspoor defeated Miomir Kecmanovic, while China’s Bu Yunchaokete overcame American Nishesh Basavareddy. Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori also battled through a tough match, defeating Spain’s Jaume Munar in a tiebreak.
