Naomi Osaka makes winning return to BNP Paribas Open, solves Sara Errani

Naomi Osaka’s comeback tour made a triumphant return to Tennis Paradise on Thursday; the 2018 BNP Paribas Open champion shook off a slow start to defeat Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the second round.

A former world No. 1, Osaka is playing her fifth tournament since leaving the tour to give birth to daughter Shai last year and is starting to gain momentum after a 16-month break, winning her third match out of the last four in one hour and nine minutes on Stadium 1 court.

Osaka arrived to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden unseeded despite her past accolades, but in solid form after reaching the first quarterfinal of her comeback at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in February. Across the net was a familiar opponent in Errani, a former world No. 5 who finished runner-up at Roland Garros back in 2012.

Though far from her best tennis, Errani’s consistency could still prove dangerous to the big-hitting Osaka, and helped the Italian twice lead by a break in the opening set.

Osaka soon found her stride as she reeled off four straight games, striking seven aces and breaking serve three times herself to win the first set in 37 minutes.

Errani kept pushing early in the second set, earning a pair of break points in Osaka’s opening service game. Saving both—one with an ace down the T—the 26-year-old shrugged off four double faults in one game to hold on, clinching the game with an audacious second serve.

Where Osaka’s serve is arguably her biggest weapon, Errani has struggled with the shot even when she was a Top 5 player, favoring consistency over speed and at times tinkering with her motion to ward off a case of the yips that dogged her for multiple seasons.

Covering the court with aplomb, Osaka turned around a 40-15 deficit to earn a break point of her own, converting with a thunderous inside out forehand winner.

Osaka overpowered Errani to save another break point, and consolidated the break with a cross-court backhand that zipped through even the slow Indian Wells court. Errani was increasingly overawed as the match slipped from her grasp, rushing the net to mixed results as Osaka surged towards a double-break lead.

Firing on all cylinders to bring the match towards a quick conclusion, Osaka blasted a backhand return into the open court to earn three match points. A pair of ill-timed shots helped Errani save two, but Osaka made no mistake on the third, striking a final forehand winner to edge over the finish line in straight sets.

Up next for Osaka will be No. 14 seed Liudmila Samsonova, who received a by into the second round. The two will be facing off for the first time, with Samsonova having enjoyed a similarly up-and-down start to her 2024 season, reaching the semifinals in Abu Dhabi but losing in the first round of the Australian Open.