"Had a fun one" - Naomi Osaka elated as she registers first back-to-back wins since Miami Open 2022 at Qatar Open 2024

Naomi Osaka recently expressed her elation after achieving consecutive victories for the first time since the 2022 Miami Open, at the 2024 Qatar Open.

Osaka made a comeback to the court this year after a 15-month hiatus. Her last appearance was at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in September 2022, where she had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness just before her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Osaka then skipped the 2023 Australian Open due to her pregnancy and gave birth to her daughter Shai in July.

Prior to her break from tennis, Naomi Osaka had been struggling with a decline in her performance. She hadn't been able to secure consecutive victories since her runner-up run at the 2022 Miami Open, where she lost the final to Iga Swiatek in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.

Even after returning to the court this season, the four-time Grand Slam champion struggled to regain her form and failed to win back-to-back matches. She began her 2024 season at the Brisbane International with a victory against Tamara Korpatsch, defeating her 6-3, 7-6 (9). However, her campaign ended in the second round when she lost to Karolina Pliskova.

The Australian Open didn't bring better luck for Osaka either, as she was defeated in the first round by Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6(2). Her poor form continued at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she once again lost in the first round, this time to Danielle Collins 7-5, 6-0.

Then at the Qatar Open, Naomi Osaka faced Caroline Garcia once again in the first round and successfully avenged her loss at the Melbourne Major. She defeated the Frenchwoman 7-5, 6-4 in their thrilling first-round clash.

Osaka's winning journey continued as she went head-to-head against Croatia's Petra Martic and was able to defeat her 6-3, 7-6(9) to secure her first consecutive wins in nearly two years.

After securing her victory against Martic in the second round, Osaka took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a picture of herself along with a video of her winning a point during the match. She captioned her post, writing:

"Had a fun one last night ❤︎ "

Naomi Osaka revealed taking inspiration from Novak Djokovic on how to improve her return

Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic at the 2018 US Open Champions Media Tour

Following her win over Caroline Garcia in the first round at the Qatar Open, Naomi Osaka revealed during her post match interview that she had recently altered her return "form" by adopting a method inspired by Novak Djokovic, whom she considers the "best returner" in the world.

"I did change my return -- I don't want to say 'style,' but I guess form. I don't know how to describe it. Like, before I was taking one step, one step, and then jumping in, but now I'm kind of just jumping in with both feet, because apparently Djokovic does that, so why not copy the best returner in the world (smiling)?" Naomi Osaka said.

Osaka also stated that she had discussions with her coach Wim Fissette regarding strategies to enhance her return game.

“Definitely. I had a conversation with Wim, and it was just kind of frustrating knowing that my serve is, like, one of the best serves, dare I say, in the world, but I just really wanted to work on the things that I know should be a lot better and the return was one of them,” she added.

Naomi Osaka will next face Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko in the third round in Doha.