The first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells delivered a tough blow to fans, with Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova both suffering early exits from the tournament.
Naomi Osaka, who is still working to regain her form after an extended hiatus due to an abdominal injury that forced her withdrawal from the Australian Open, fell to Camila Osorio 6-4 6-4.
Despite the loss, the four-time Grand Slam champion, who won her first WTA title at Indian Wells in 2018, remained upbeat in her post-match media interaction. Reflecting on her experience, she expressed gratitude for the tournament’s continued support, saying, “I don’t think it was too good on my end, but I’m really honestly just happy that they let me play on Stadium 1 again, and it was really good to get the experience to play another night match.”
The former world No. 1, currently ranked 56, reassured the press that her injury wasn’t a factor in the match: “It feels really weird, because I do think I did well in Australia. It feels like a little bit of a stopping/starting again. So I think it would have been really helpful to play more matches coming into this tournament, but obviously I couldn’t.”
Petra Kvitova is another local favorite who did not make it out of the first round. Currently ranked 1,448th in the world, the former number 2 is returning to the tour after having her first child. The Czech had lost in the first round of the ATX Open in Austin last week. The WTA 250 tournament in Texas was her first tournament since the 2023 China Open.
The 34-year-old Kvitova entered Indian Wells with a wildcard and was defeated by Varvara Gracheva 6-4 3-6 4-6. There were glimpses of the greatness that propelled her to two Wimbledon titles, but after winning the first set, she struggled to maintain the energy needed to see through the match. She converted 5 of 11 break points, while her opponent converted 6 of 18.
Paula Badosa, the 2021 champion, withdrew from the tournament Thursday citing a lower back injury.
The top seeds received byes in the first round and begin to play Friday.
