Former world number 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has joined a star-studded line-up at the Abu Dhabi Open, which features 2022 Wimbledon champion and 2023 Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina, three-time Grand Slam finalist and 2021 US Open and Roland Garros semifinalist Maria Sakkari 2021 Roland Garros Barbora Krejcikova, Beatriz Haddad Maia, 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronoka Kudemertova, Caroline Garcia, Sorana Cristea, Anastasia Potapova, Anhelina Kalinina, Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro and Lesla Tsurenko. Ten of the too 20 players will take part at the Abu Dhabi tournament.
Osaka has earned the first win in 15 months at the Brisbane International after giving birth to her daughter last July. She lost to Karolina Pliskova in Brisbane and Caroline Garcia in the first round at the Australian Open in her first two tournaments of the 2024 season.
“I am very excited about competing in this year’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and performing in front of the UAE tennis fans, who I know from previous experiences will create a fantastic experience. It’s a high quality field with some of the world’s best players taking part. I am looking forward to what I am sure will be a fantastic event”, said Osaka.
Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021, has also accepted a wild-card.
