Naomi Osaka defeated No. 10 Jeļena Ostapenko during the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, 6-3, 6-2, her first win at the tournament since 2021.

After the match, she noted that it was hardly an easy victory.

"It was stressful," she said. "She was hitting some really good shots. I just told myself, keep going, keep fighting for every point, and maybe you'll have an opportunity. And eventually I did."

Osaka, who didn't play in 2023 due to the birth of her daughter, was emotional upon her return to the U.S. Open.

"I was trying not to cry when I was walking out," she said in her post-match 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, 26, has won two of her threw Grand Slam singles titles at the U.S. Open, last conquering New York in 2020. She came into this year's tournament excited to be back.

"I made a promise to myself to be as confident as I can in the fact that I am who I am," she told reporters ahead of the U.S. Open. "I feel like, for me, throughout the year I have had really hard matches, and it kind of dipped my confidence a little. I wouldn't say that I played bad tennis. I just would say that I played really good players, and I also learned a lot."

"I do think coming to this specific tournament helps me out," she continued. "But also, whenever I step foot here, I don't really think about the two tournaments I won. I just think about how I felt when I was a kid. It's more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy."

She also came out with a memorable fit for her U.S Open return:

It won't get easier for Osaka, who has another tough matchup in the second round against Karolína Muchová on Thursday. But if nothing else, she just seems happy to be back on the courts at the U.S. Open once again.