Naomi Osaka falls in first round at Indian Wells

Indian Wells, California – Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the first round at Indian Wells on Wednesday, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio in her first tournament since pulling out of the Australian Open with an injury.

Former world No. 1 Osaka, now ranked 56th, looked rusty against the 52nd-ranked Colombian, struggling to find the range on her powerful groundstrokes on a chilly night in the California desert.

"There were certain things that felt extremely off because I could only start to practice serving after a certain amount of time and stuff like that," Osaka said. "So I think given the situation, it wasn't that terrible.

"I don't feel like I played well at all, but I had chances to be in the match."

Osorio, returning from a lengthy injury break herself, challenged Osaka with an array of drop shots and slices and gained the lone break of the opening set for a 5-4 lead.

She served it out without a hitch then broke Osaka to open the second.

The Japanese star immediately broke back, but Osorio gained the upper hand with a break in the seventh game.

After Osaka survived a match point against her own serve, Osorio served out the match, fighting off four break points to seal it with a stinging forehand winner.

"It's crazy for me, a dream come true," said Osorio, who pulled out of last week's event in Merida, Mexico, with an abdominal injury.

She had never won a match at Indian Wells and became the first Colombian woman to beat a former world No. 1.

Osaka, who returned from a 15-month break last year after giving birth to daughter Shai in 2023, reached her first final since 2022 in Auckland, but retired from the title match with an abdominal injury.

She was forced to retire from her third-round match at the Australian Open with an abdominal strain.

"It just feels like a little bump in the road," Osaka said. "I'll be back in Miami and hopefully I'll have way more serve practice under my belt and things like that."

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also made an early exit, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to France's Varvara Gracheva.

The loss leaves Kvitova searching for her first win since returning to the tour following the birth of her first child last July. She also lost in the first round in Austin last week in her first tournament following a 16-month absence.

The Czech grabbed the first set as both players struggled to control their serve, but Gracheva settled in to level the match before jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the decider.

Kvitova won three straight games to take a 4-3 lead, but Gracheva took control from there, dominating the final three games to dispatch the tournament wildcard and set up a meeting with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.

Gracheva said she wanted to congratulate Kvitova for juggling the demands of motherhood and being a professional athlete.

"Because she had a child quite recently, and I'm so happy that she now has the role of a mother and a tennis player, which is very demanding," she added.

"It's very inspiring for sports, athletes, women — it's just amazing. Petra, my admiration to you — you're the best."

Gracheva's fellow Frenchwoman, Caroline Garcia, also advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American Bernarda Pera and will face defending champion Iga Swiatek next.

Belarusian Victoria Azarenka battled past American Clervie Ngounoue 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) to get her campaign for a third Indian Wells crown off to a winning start.

On the men's side, Kei Nishikori emerged victorious in a roller-coaster match with Spain's Jaume Munar to advance 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3). The Japanese player will face 18th seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the second round.

Britain's Cam Norrie thrashed Italy's Luca Nardi 6-0, 6-3 in the evening to set up a second round meeting with Czech 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka.

American qualifier Colton Smith celebrated his 22nd birthday with his first ATP Tour main draw win, beating Flavio Cobolli 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Smith converted seven of his nine break point opportunities and was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" from the fans after downing the Italian.

American Marcos Giron, Russian Roman Safiullin and Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands were among the other players who advanced to the second round of the Masters 1000 event.