Naomi Osaka's return to tennis after a lengthy hiatus was short-lived as she was ousted in the first round at Indian Wells on Wednesday, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio.
It was Osaka's first tournament since injury sidelined her at the Australian Open earlier this year.
The former world No. 1, now ranked 56th, appeared rusty against the 52nd-ranked Colombian, struggling with her groundstrokes under the cool desert night.
Osaka, who has been dealing with abdominal issues, admitted that the rust was to be expected after such a long break.
"There were certain things that felt extremely off because I could only start to practice serving after a certain amount of time," she said. "Given the situation, it wasn't that terrible, but I don't feel like I played well at all. I had chances to be in the match."
Osorio, also making her own return from injury, kept Osaka on her toes with a variety of drop shots and slices.
She broke Osaka at 5-4 to take the first set and never looked back.
The Colombian then broke Osaka again at the start of the second set, and despite Osaka's fight to break back, Osorio seized control with another break in the seventh game.
Osaka fended off a match point on her serve, but Osorio closed out the match with a forehand winner after saving four break points.
"It’s crazy for me, a dream come true," said Osorio, who pulled out of last week’s event in Merida due to an abdominal injury. With this win, Osorio became the first Colombian woman to defeat a former world No. 1 at Indian Wells.
Osaka, who made her comeback in 2023 after giving birth to her daughter, Shai, faced another setback after reaching her first final since 2022 in Auckland, only to retire due to an abdominal injury.
In Melbourne, she was forced to retire from her third-round match with another strain.
Despite the loss, Osaka remains optimistic: "It just feels like a little bump in the road. I'll be back in Miami and hopefully I'll have way more serve practice under my belt."
In other notable first-round exits, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was ousted by France's Varvara Gracheva, who won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Gracheva, 24, praised Kvitova’s resilience as a mother and a tennis player, acknowledging the demands of balancing both roles.
Meanwhile, in men’s action, Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands triumphed over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with top seed Alexander Zverev.
Zverev heads a field missing world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who is serving a three-month drugs ban.
China’s Bu Yunchaokete defeated Nishesh Basavareddy 7-5, 6-4 and will meet fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev next.
Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori, who nearly retired last year due to injury, battled past Spain's Jaume Munar 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3). Nishikori will face 18th-seeded Ugo Humbert in the second round.
