Former No.1 Naomi Osaka has accepted a wild card into the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, joining a strong field that already includes Ons Jabeur, Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari. The WTA 500 tournament begins on Feb. 3.
“I’m 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 experience will create a fantastic atmosphere," Osaka said.
“It’s a high-quality field with some of the world’s best players taking part, and I’m looking forward to what I’m sure will be a fantastic event.”
After giving birth to her daughter in July, Osaka began her tennis comeback this month in Australia. She earned her first win in 15 months at the Brisbane International. She left Australia with a 1-2 record, taking two high-quality losses to former No.1 Karolina Pliskova and former No.4 Caroline Garcia.
Osaka has expressed her desire to play a fuller competitive schedule in 2024 and her participation in Abu Dhabi is a clear sign of intent. The four-time major champion has not played a tournament in February since 2019 Dubai.
Osaka is the second wild card entrant in Abu Dhabi. 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu has also accepted a wild card.
Abu Dhabi currently counts 10 of the Hologic WTA Tour's Top 20 in the field. The tournament kicks off the Middle East Swing in February, where the tour will wind through Abu Dhabi before gearing up for back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
Abu Dhabi entry list:
Elena Rybakina
Ons Jabeur
Maria Sakkari
Barbora Krejcikova
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Jeļena Ostapenko
Liudmila Samsonova
Daria Kasatkina
Veronika Kudermetova
Caroline Garcia
Magda Linette
Sorana Cirstea
Anastasia Potapova
Anhelina Kalinina
Jasmine Paolini
Emma Navarro
Lesia Tsurenko
Wild cards: Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu
