Naomi Osaka said it “feels like a dream” as she made a winning return on her first appearance at Wimbledon for five years.
The four-time Grand Slam champion came through 6-1 1-6 6-4 against Diane Parry on court two.
Japan’s Osaka returned to the tour in 2024 after giving birth to her first child, daughter Shai, a year ago.
The 26-year-old, who is now ranked 113rd in the world, was injured in 2022 and also missed the 2021 tournament while taking time off to deal with mental health issues.
Competing as a wildcard, Osaka raced through the opening set in just 22 minutes, firing a series of winners past French 21-year-old Parry.
Her level dropped in the second set, though, as Parry quickly levelled and the world number 53 twice went a break up in the deciding set.
But Osaka, who has never been beyond the third round at SW19, fought back and three double faults in the final game from Parry proved her downfall.
“I’m really excited to be here and it’s funny, Wimbledon was the first tournament I watched after pregnancy and my daughter’s turning one tomorrow so, I’m really glad to still be here,” said Osaka.
“I wish I could say I enjoyed it all the time but my heart was racing a lot. But, you know, I feel like these are the type of matches that you kind of have to play just in order to ease into the tournament.”