Even though Naomi Osaka fell to defeat at the Brisbane International yesterday, she remains confident about her return to competitive tennis. The four-time grand slam champion was beaten in three sets – 3-6 7-6 6-4 – by Karolína Plíšková.

“I’m not really sure if I can be too hard on myself, if that makes sense,” Osaka told reporters.

“I knew going into the match, we had stats on where she serves specifically, but then she changed it up on me.

“I knew that she was going to play really well, and whenever I play her, it’s always three sets. The week is definitely shorter than I wanted it to be, but overall, I think it was a great match and I had a lot of fun.”

Osaka spent over a year away from the court after opting to prioritize her mental health before becoming a mother in July.

The former world No. 1 made a winning return to tennis on Monday when she beat Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch in her first competitive game in 15 months and took that good form into the first set against Plíšková.