By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Naomi Osaka said she feels right at home at Indian Wells as she returns to the tournament where she earned her first WTA title.
After missing last year’s event while being on a maternity break, the Japanese player was delighted to be back at Indian Wells with her baby daughter in tow.
“It’s nice to get in the car and be able to drive here,” Osaka, who lives in Beverly Hills, told reporters.
“And I brought my daughter, so coming back home and seeing her is new but it’s nice. It does feel a little bit like home.”
Following her triumph in Indian Wells in 2018, Osaka won the U.S. Open later that year which set her on the path to becoming one of the best known and highest paid athletes in the world.
The four-time major winner gave birth to her daughter Shai in July and after falling in the opening rounds of this year’s Australian Open and Abu Dhabi Open, she made the quarter-finals in Doha.
The 26-year-old said she is a “perfectionist” but added that she is trying not to be too hard on herself as she finds her feet after her maternity break.
“I’ve had dreams of what I want to achieve and obviously losing in the first round of the Australian Open wasn’t in my dreams, but I have to be really realistic and kind to myself,” she said.
“When I was in Doha and I got to the quarters, I was really happy. I would have loved to go further but I’m in the top 200 now and I’m actually really excited about that.”
The former world number one said she has no problem being unseeded at the WTA 1000 event where seeded players enjoy a first round bye.
“When I won Indian Wells (in 2018) I wasn’t seeded,” she said.
“It’s better for me to play the seven matches because I want to know what it’s like to potentially win a fifth Grand Slam. This is really great practice for me and hopefully I’ll get through my first match and my second match.”
Osaka plays Italian qualifier Sara Errani in the first round on Thursday.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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