Former world number one Naomi Osaka reached her first semi-final since 2022 after fighting back at the Auckland Classic on Friday (Jan 3). The four-time Grand Slam champion beat unseeded American Hailey Baptiste 6-7 (2/7), 6-1, 6-2 in another confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne.<o:p></o:p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet publive-iframes-block publive-Twitter-block" contenteditable="false" width="600" height="400" id="PL_blockquote_block-m5g9qqnf-g3fuxqkh-kz7hg28x">
Osaka to the semis 🤩<a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@naomiosaka</a> battles back to defeat Baptiste 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 and reaches the semifinals in Auckland.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASBClassic25?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ASBClassic25</a> <a href="https://t.co/wqWZE5SMqL">pic.twitter.com/wqWZE5SMqL</a>
&mdash; wta (@WTA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1875018573363503530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
Osaka said her hard work was starting to pay off after booking a place in the final four of a WTA event for the first time since the Miami Open in April 2022.<o:p></o:p>
The Japan star gave birth to daughter Shai in July the following year, midway through a 15-month break, before returning to the tour 12 months ago.<o:p></o:p>
Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/brisbane-international-novak-djokovic-aryna-sabalenka-into-quarters-as-rising-stars-impress-8586371" rel="dofollow">Brisbane International: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka into quarters as rising stars impress</a>
"I put a lot of work in throughout last year and even though the results didn't show it, I'm just continuing to try as hard as I can to see where it gets me," the 57th-ranked star said.
"The key focus again today was just to have a lot of belief and confidence in myself."<o:p></o:p>
As with her first two matches in Auckland, the 27-year-old lacked rhythm in the opening set.<o:p></o:p>
But she unearthed a powerful serving game over the next two sets, ending with nine aces to give her 21 for the tournament.<o:p></o:p>
World number 92 Baptiste sought treatment for an ankle injury during the second set.<o:p></o:p>
Osaka, a two-time Australian Open champion, admitted that helped her cause.<o:p></o:p>
"She's an amazing player, it sucks that she was injured but I think we played a really high-quality match," said Osaka, who is seeded seventh in Auckland.
"In a weird way, I'm glad to play a three-set match because I think that's the kind of experience that I need."<o:p></o:p>
Osaka's semi-final opponent will come from the winner of a quarter-final later on Friday between eighth seed Katie Volynets and unseeded American compatriot Alycia Parks.
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Naomi Osaka said her hard work was starting to pay off after booking a place in the final four of a WTA event for the first time since the Miami Open in April 2022.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka reached her first semi-final since 2022 after fighting back at the Auckland Classic on Friday (Jan 3). The four-time Grand Slam champion beat unseeded American Hailey Baptiste 6-7 (2/7), 6-1, 6-2 in another confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Osaka to the semis 🤩@naomiosaka battles back to defeat Baptiste 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 and reaches the semifinals in Auckland.#ASBClassic25 pic.twitter.com/wqWZE5SMqL — wta (@WTA) January 3, 2025 Osaka said her hard work was starting to pay off after booking a place in the final four of a WTA event for the first time since the Miami Open in April 2022. The Japan star gave birth to daughter Shai in July the following year, midway through a 15-month break, before returning to the tour 12 months ago. Also read | Brisbane International: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka into quarters as rising stars impress "I put a lot of work in throughout last year and even though the results didn't show it, I'm just continuing to try as hard as I can to see where it gets me," the 57th-ranked star said. "The key focus again today was just to have a lot of belief and confidence in myself." As with her first two matches in Auckland, the 27-year-old lacked rhythm in the opening set. But she unearthed a powerful serving game over the next two sets, ending with nine aces to give her 21 for the tournament. World number 92 Baptiste sought treatment for an ankle injury during the second set. Osaka, a two-time Australian Open champion, admitted that helped her cause. "She's an amazing player, it sucks that she was injured but I think we played a really high-quality match," said Osaka, who is seeded seventh in Auckland. "In a weird way, I'm glad to play a three-set match because I think that's the kind of experience that I need." Osaka's semi-final opponent will come from the winner of a quarter-final later on Friday between eighth seed Katie Volynets and unseeded American compatriot Alycia Parks. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Tennis: Osaka reaches first semis since comeback at Auckland Open

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/.../tennis-serena-williams-caroline-wozniacki- struggle-but-advance-to-auckland-quarters-273201">Serena&nbsp;Williams</a>&nbsp;won her first&nbsp;title&nbsp;since the 2017 Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Jessica Pegula at the&nbsp;Auckland&nbsp;Classic on Sunday but was unable to complete the perfect week in New Zealand when she lost the doubles final.

The 38-year-old&nbsp;Williams, who said she would donate all her prize money to Australian bushfire relief funds, and good friend Caroline Wozniacki were beaten by American duo Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-4.

The result meant that Wozniacki was unable to complete her own fairytale farewell to a tournament with which she has become synonymous, having played in New Zealand's largest city every&nbsp;year&nbsp;since 2015.

The 29-year-old Dane, who was beaten by Pegula in the singles semi-finals, is retiring after the Australian Open, which runs from Jan 20 to Feb. 2.

"I have loved coming back here," Wozniacki said after tournament organisers made a special presentation before the doubles trophy was given to Muhammad and Townsend.

"Serena, thank you playing doubles with me, it has been so much fun and the only regrets I have is that we didn't do this sooner.

"I have had such a blast and it is rare that I have this much fun on court and it was a really fun way to finish off in&nbsp;Auckland."

Williams' singles victory, however, gave the American her 73rd WTA&nbsp;title&nbsp;and broke a near&nbsp;three-year&nbsp;drought, despite having appeared in five finals since she clinched her 23rd Grand Slam crown with a&nbsp;win&nbsp;at the Australian Open in 2017.

She is chasing Australian <a href="https://www.wionews.com/.../bianca-andreescu-to-face-serena-for-us-open- title-247884">Margaret Court</a>'s record 24 Grand Slam singles&nbsp;titles, but has lost two Wimbledon and two U.S. Open finals since her 6-4 6-4 victory over elder sister Venus in Melbourne.

"It feels good, it has been a long time,"&nbsp;Williams&nbsp;said. "I played an incredible opponent in Jessica and honestly it was a great match."

Williams&nbsp;had struggled for consistency earlier in the week, but sent an ominous message to the Australian Open field when she demolished promising teenager Amanda Anisimova 6-1 6-1 in their semi-final and then beat an impressive Pegula on Sunday.

"I was definitely improving as the week went on and I needed to because I had some tough matches,"&nbsp;Williams&nbsp;said.

"I feel fortunate and blessed to be out here and to be healthy and to play. I have been playing for so long and been through so much and I'm happy to be doing something I love."

Serena Williams won her first title since the 2017 Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Jessica Pegula at the Auckland Classic on Sunday but was unable to complete the perfect week in New Zealand when she lost the doubles final.

Serena Williams won her first title since the 2017 Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Jessica Pegula at the Auckland Classic on Sunday but was unable to complete the perfect week in New Zealand when she lost the doubles final. The 38-year-old Williams, who said she would donate all her prize money to Australian bushfire relief funds, and good friend Caroline Wozniacki were beaten by American duo Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-4. The result meant that Wozniacki was unable to complete her own fairytale farewell to a tournament with which she has become synonymous, having played in New Zealand's largest city every year since 2015. The 29-year-old Dane, who was beaten by Pegula in the singles semi-finals, is retiring after the Australian Open, which runs from Jan 20 to Feb. 2. "I have loved coming back here," Wozniacki said after tournament organisers made a special presentation before the doubles trophy was given to Muhammad and Townsend. "Serena, thank you playing doubles with me, it has been so much fun and the only regrets I have is that we didn't do this sooner. "I have had such a blast and it is rare that I have this much fun on court and it was a really fun way to finish off in Auckland." Williams' singles victory, however, gave the American her 73rd WTA title and broke a near three-year drought, despite having appeared in five finals since she clinched her 23rd Grand Slam crown with a win at the Australian Open in 2017. She is chasing Australian Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, but has lost two Wimbledon and two U.S. Open finals since her 6-4 6-4 victory over elder sister Venus in Melbourne. "It feels good, it has been a long time," Williams said. "I played an incredible opponent in Jessica and honestly it was a great match." Williams had struggled for consistency earlier in the week, but sent an ominous message to the Australian Open field when she demolished promising teenager Amanda Anisimova 6-1 6-1 in their semi-final and then beat an impressive Pegula on Sunday. "I was definitely improving as the week went on and I needed to because I had some tough matches," Williams said. "I feel fortunate and blessed to be out here and to be healthy and to play. I have been playing for so long and been through so much and I'm happy to be doing something I love."

WTA Auckland Open: Williams breaks three-year title drought to win

Former world number one Serena Williams will begin her 2020 season with a return to the Auckland Open in January, her first appearance at the tournament since she was ousted in the second round in 2017.

The Auckland Open serves as a warm-up before the year's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which begins on January&nbsp;20 next year.

On her last Auckland appearance, then top seed Williams hit 88 unforced errors in windy conditions, losing to compatriot Madison Brengle, who was ranked 70 rungs lower.

"Oh man, I want to win that title so bad," Williams was quoted as saying by the tournament organisers.

"Last time I was there I had so much going on and although I fought through to win my first match, I know I didn't play to my level.

"I have such amazing memories that are really special to me from Auckland," she added, referring to her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian days before the 2017 tournament.

"I would really like to add some on court memories to that list."

Williams, 37, is due to compete at the US&nbsp;Open which begins next week but her preparations for the final Grand Slam of the year have been far from perfect with injuries limiting her time on court.

The 23-times Grand Slam champion retired from the Rogers Cup final in Toronto earlier this month because of back spasms, which led to her withdrawal from the Cincinnati Masters.&nbsp;

Former world number one Serena Williams will begin her 2020 season with a return to the Auckland Open in January, her first appearance at the tournament since she was ousted in the second round in 2017.

Former world number one Serena Williams will begin her 2020 season with a return to the Auckland Open in January, her first appearance at the tournament since she was ousted in the second round in 2017. The Auckland Open serves as a warm-up before the year's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which begins on January 20 next year. On her last Auckland appearance, then top seed Williams hit 88 unforced errors in windy conditions, losing to compatriot Madison Brengle, who was ranked 70 rungs lower. "Oh man, I want to win that title so bad," Williams was quoted as saying by the tournament organisers. "Last time I was there I had so much going on and although I fought through to win my first match, I know I didn't play to my level. "I have such amazing memories that are really special to me from Auckland," she added, referring to her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian days before the 2017 tournament. "I would really like to add some on court memories to that list." Williams, 37, is due to compete at the US Open which begins next week but her preparations for the final Grand Slam of the year have been far from perfect with injuries limiting her time on court. The 23-times Grand Slam champion retired from the Rogers Cup final in Toronto earlier this month because of back spasms, which led to her withdrawal from the Cincinnati Masters.

Serena Williams to begin 2020 season with return to Auckland

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Tennis: Osaka reaches first semis since comeback at Auckland Open

WTA Auckland Open: Williams breaks three-year title drought to win

Serena Williams to begin 2020 season with return to Auckland