4-time Grand Slam winner (two Australian Opens, two US Opens) Naomi Osaka is again after a 15-month go away, throughout which she welcomed her first little one, Shai. In Brisbane forward of the Australian Open, Osaka appeared in wonderful kind. Her ball-striking was clear, and equally highly effective. (She additionally exuded confidence in an attention grabbing Louis Vuitton necklace.) At that event, she battled Karolína Plíšková within the Spherical of 32, shedding in three units, however her spirits remained excessive. She mentioned on X (previously often known as Twitter), in her usually transient method: “not gonna lie, that was actually enjoyable although.”

“I simply have a very contemporary perspective,” Osaka tells us of her 2024 outlook. “I’m embracing each second and residing within the second.” In Australia, she’ll look to attract energy from the gang; she’s a fan favourite, deservedly so. “It sounds cliché, however my favourite factor at this event is certainly the followers,” she says. “I’ve all the time had such a heat welcome right here, even earlier than I had gained it.”

Iga Świątek

4-time Grand Slam winner (three French Opens, one US Open) and present girls’s world primary Iga Świątek is gunning for her first Australian Open. (She’s gotten shut: In 2022, she reached the semifinals.) This 22-year-old from Poland, a headliner of ON’s athlete roster, is thought for being one of many sport’s extra aware gamers. Her introspection—and her concentrate on psychological well being—has paid dividends in her younger profession so far.

“My routine most likely will keep the identical, since you don’t change one thing that merely works effectively,” Świątek tells us from Australia. That routine contains: “Resting sufficient, being in nature to recharge, and doing one thing small for myself every single day, like studying books and managing social media time.” She provides: “The one factor I’m consistently attempting to work with is to really feel extra free on and off the court docket by way of expectations, stress, and challenges.”

Grigor Dimitrov