Naomi Osaka reacts to Chris Evert hailing her enduring 'greatness' during Qatar Open campaign

Naomi Osaka has expressed her appreciation after receiving words of encouragement from tennis legend Chris Evert, who hailed her quarterfinal comeback at the 2024 Qatar Open after a lengthy absence from the sport.

Osaka, who gave birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023, has been working to regain her form after a 15-month-long absence from the tour. The Japanese had a difficult start to the 2024 season, losing three of her first four matches in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Melbourne.

However, Osaka showed signs of her old brilliance at the Qatar Open in Doha, where she defeated 15th seed Caroline Garcia, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round, and Petra Martic 6-3, 7-6(9) in the second. The 26-year-old advanced to the quarterfinals by walkover, after Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko withdrew with an elbow injury.

Osaka’s performance in Doha caught the attention of Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam champion and one of the greatest players of all time. Evert took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise the Japanese for her resilience and potential.

"It was just a matter of time. Greatness doesn’t disappear….@naomiosaka #patience 💪👍" Evert wrote.

Osaka quoted the tweet and reacted with a face holding back tears and a heart emoji, showing her gratitude and appreciation for Evert’s words.

"😭❤️"

Naomi Osaka eventually lost to Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals with a scoreline of, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).

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Naomi Osaka's comeback following 15-month maternity break could be powerful, says Mark Petchey

Naomi Osaka at the 2024 Qatar Open

Former tennis pro Mark Petchey recently predicted that Naomi Osaka is poised to become a formidable threat to other players on the WTA tour after coming back from her maternity leave.

In a recent episode of the Tennis Channel's Inside-In podcast, Petchey stated that the tennis community might have underestimated Osaka, suggesting that she was written off too hastily following her disappointing performances at the start of the 2024 season.

"I thought people were too quick to get down on Naomi after that loss. I thought people were… I mean they already wrote her down on natural surfaces, probably they were thinking it was the US Open and I was like, ‘No, she looked good, she just didn’t have the time on the ball because Caroline played great'," Petchey said. (at 20:00)

"I’m delighted that she has bounced back quickly to win those matches," he added. "She’s in good shape. I don’t mean that as physical, I mean she’s in good shape hitting the ball, physically, mentally, she looks happy, I think she’s going to be a danger."