This gentle return to tennis with the United Cup feels great. We missed it, and we have to say we haven’t been disappointed by these first few days.

We would like to highlight a few encounters, starting with this interesting match between Maria Sakkari, World number 52, and Naomi Osaka, World number 16.

Let’s put things into context. Maria Sakkari, after having a more than mediocre 2025, having fallen quite low in the rankings, arrives in Perth fully charged and more motivated than ever. She wants to climb back to the top, and we know her physical strengths and we know she can do it.

Naomi Osaka, for her part, had an up-and-down 2025 with three coaching changes in the same year, but, on the positive side, it shows a desire to re-establish herself at the highest level and, why not, go for another Grand Slam. She impressed with the level she displayed at the end of last year and seemed to be on the right track.

Let’s be frank. We were pleasantly surprised by this match, on the one hand, and disappointed by it at the other. First, we were pleasantly surprised by a Greek player who was assertive, aggressive, and attacking, taking charge and even coming to the net. Then, we were also disappointed by the Japanese player’s passive, withdrawn, and utterly unentertaining attitude.

As mentioned earlier, it’s true that the Greek player needs to prove she can compete at the highest level again, but we know her inconsistency, which is also defining her, and it’s also true that we saw a Naomi Osaka who seemed to have a cold, or at least was physically diminished. But that doesn’t explain everything. You could really sense a lack of desire, almost a lack of motivation to be on the court.

Overall, it was a good match, but thankfully Maria Sakkari injected some pace into it. She deservedly won, and her desire and aggression compensated her lack of consistency. She played better and better throughout the match, helped by her opponent who gave up quite early.