Daily Times

While new mum Naomi Osaka has ramped up preparations for her tennis return in Brisbane, the Australian Open warm-up tournament will be missing world No.8 Karolina Muchova with a wrist injury. The French Open finalist has also withdrawn from the Open, which gets under way next month in Melbourne. The Czech star, who was seeded third at the Brisbane International, revealed she was still battling pain in her right wrist. She initially suffered the injury in her charge to the US Open semi-finals in September. The 27-year-old hasn’t played since losing in New York to eventual champion American Coco Gauff. “This isn’t my favorite thing to share, especially at the start of a new season, but unfortunately, the pain in a wrist came back in the middle of my tennis preparation,” Muchova posted on social media. She didn’t give a timeline for her recovery. Muchova becomes the first high-profile absentee of the year’s opening grand slam, which will welcome the return to tennis of former world No.1 Osaka. The new mum, who gave birth to a daughter in July, missed this year’s tournament and will look to add a third title at Melbourne Park. Osaka, a four-time grand slam champion, has been training daily since her arrival in Australia. The Japanese ace hasn’t played a tournament on the WTA Tour since the Pan Pacific in Tokyo in September 2022, when she withdrew from her second-round match. Osaka said becoming a mother had made her realise her physical capabilities. “Being a mum changed my life a lot, changed my perspective on a lot of things, and for sure giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through,” Osaka told reporters in Brisbane on Friday. “So it’s made me feel like physically I can handle a lot more.” She said being a role model for her baby, Shai, had spurred her comeback. “I just want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons for why I want to be back out there,” Osaka said. She said she had prepared well for the world stage, but just lacked match play, which she hoped to get in Brisbane with the tournament starting Sunday. “I’ve given myself the biggest chance to do well but haven’t had any match play,” Osaka said.