Naomi Osaka defeated Alicia Parks in straight sets at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, reaching her first WTA final since 2022 and since returning to tennis last year after giving birth to her first child.
The four-time Grand Slam champion defeated Parkes 6-4, 6-2 to advance to Sunday’s final, where she will face Denmark’s Clara Thorson.
Osaka played in her first semifinal since the 2022 Miami Open, defeating Belinda Bencic before losing to Iga Swiatek in the championship match.
She will be trying to win her first title since the 2021 Australian Open.
The Japanese star announced she would be stepping away from tennis just before the 2023 Australian Open after revealing her pregnancy.
Osaka returned to the court at the 2024 Brisbane International, but struggled to regain the form that saw her become world number one last year.
Osaka, who heads to Auckland ranked 57th, returned to the top 50 of the WTA live rankings with her semi-final victory.
“Obviously I’m really happy to make it to the finals, but this is a first in my career because I’ve actually never made it to the finals in a tournament the week before Melbourne,” Osaka said. Sky Sports Tennis.
“What I think in my head is that no matter how old I am, I’m always happy that I can always improve or get better.”
Watch the Auckland Classic final, plus United Cup, ATP and WTA events in Brisbane and Hong Kong live on Sky Sports Tennis this weekend, or Stream now.
