Naomi Osaka will be kicking off the new year in New Zealand.
Former World No.1 Osaka will start her 2025 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, the WTA 250 tournament announced this week. Main-draw play in New Zealand's largest city begins on Monday, December 30, 2024.
“I am looking forward to just embracing the nature of Auckland and of course, playing in a tournament that I have not played in for a long time,” Osaka said, as she looks ahead to her first Auckland showing in eight years.
“I am excited to return to Auckland for the ASB Classic 2025. When I was there last time, I was fortunate to go on a helicopter tour and explore the beaches which I thought were really beautiful. ... My other memory is that Auckland has the best salmon.”
It will be Osaka's second ASB Classic appearance. Her first Auckland showing was in 2017, when she still had yet to crack the Top 40 of the PIF WTA Singles Rankings. Osaka reached the Auckland quarterfinals that year, losing to eventual finalist Ana Konjuh.
Since then, Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles (2018 and 2020 US Open, and 2019 and 2021 Australian Open), spent 25 weeks ranked World No.1, and given birth to her daughter Shai in 2023.
Osaka made her comeback from maternity leave at the start of this year. She began this season ranked No.833, and is now up to World No.76. Some highlights of her 2024 season include runs to the quarterfinals at WTA 1000 Doha and 's-Hertogenbosch, and holding match point against eventual champion Iga Swiatek in a thrilling Roland Garros match.
The ASB Classic has been a mainstay of the season-opening Southern Hemisphere swing for nearly four decades, excepting 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic. Coco Gauff currently reigns as the two-time defending champion, having gone undefeated at the event since its return in 2023.
Osaka has also moved into the main draw of this year's WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, which begins next Wednesday, September 25. Osaka became a direct entry in the Chinese capital after withdrawals by Caroline Garcia, Marie Bouzkova and Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday.
