Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion, made an emotional and victorious return to the US Open on Tuesday, defeating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, the 10th seed, 6-3, 6-2. This comeback comes a year after she questioned whether she would play again. Osaka, from Japan, had missed the previous US Open due to the birth of her daughter Shai, and the former world number one is still adjusting to her return to professional tennis. However, she was focused and effective against the 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, hitting 19 winners to secure the win in just 63 minutes.

Osaka entered the court dressed in a playful tulle skirt and a jacket adorned with bows, which she later removed to play in a green ruffled dress. Despite the light-hearted outfit, she was visibly emotional. "I was trying not to cry when I was walking out," Osaka said, her eyes welling up during her on-court interview. "Last year I was watching Coco (Gauff) play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again. I didn't know if I could... just to win this match and just to be in this atmosphere means so much to me."

Osaka has reached two quarterfinals in tour events this year but has not advanced past the second round in major tournaments. Ostapenko proved to be a challenging first-round opponent for Osaka, who is currently ranked 88th and received a wildcard for the tournament. "It was stressful," Osaka admitted. "She was hitting some really good shots. I just told myself keep going and keep fighting for every point."

In other matches, Stefanos Tsitsipas' struggles at the US Open continued with a 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 7-5 loss to Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round. Despite a close first set and a subsequent rally to level the match, Tsitsipas faced an abdominal issue and eventually lost after three hours and 54 minutes. Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, has never advanced past the third round at the US Open.

Meanwhile, world number one Iga Swiatek started her campaign for a second Grand Slam title of 2024 with a 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Kamilla Rakhimova at the US Open. Swiatek, after being broken while serving for the match, rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the tiebreaker to win the last five points and secure her victory.