Considering the illustrious career of five tennis stars who have successfully returned after giving birth, do you think Naomi Osaka can make a statement comeback in 2024?

Naomi Osaka announced via her social media platforms that she's expecting a child this year, and will be back on tour at the Australian Open in 2024.

This disclosure came as a surprise to tennis fans and has generated reactions online. Many have insinuated that, in getting pregnant at the nominal peak of her career, she does not care about the sport anymore.

Historically, most female tennis players who have gone the pregnancy route during their careers have done so when they were past their prime and had nothing to lose.As such, one significant question is: is it feasible for four-time Grand slam winner Osaka to make it back on tour and be at her best at the Australian Open in 2024?

Here are five players who successfully returned to the sport after becoming mothers.

Victoria Azarenka

The Belarussian is a former singles World No.1, having claimed the top ranking for the first time in January 2012.

Before giving birth, Azarenka won 21 WTA singles titles, including two Grand Slam singles titles at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open, She was also a two-time major finalist at the US Open, finishing as runner-up to Serena Williams in 2012 and 2013.

On July 15, 2016, Azarenka announced her pregnancy through social media and missed the rest of the 2016 season. She returned to competitive tennis the following year and proceeded to reach the US Open Final for the first time since 2013.

Though she lost to Osaka, despite leading by a set and a break, Azarenka's ranking rose to No. 14, her highest ranking since January 2017.

Serena Williams

Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Williams was ranked World No1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks, and finished as the year-end No.1 five times. She won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second most all-time.

After winning the 2017 Australian Open, a record seventh time in an Open Era, defeating her sister, Venus, It was her 23rd Grand Slam singles title and the win ensured her return to the No.1 ranking.

Then in April 2017, the American revealed that she was 20 weeks pregnant and would miss the remainder of the season. The timing of her announcement led to the conclusion that she would have been roughly eight to nine weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open.

In 2018, Williams returned to active Tennis and was Runner-up at Wimbledon and US Open, same in 2019. The following year, the multiple Grand Slam failed to reach the final of a major tournament for the first time since 2016, while in 2021, she got to the Australian Open semifinal and out of the top 40 after being plagued with several injuries during these years.

The 41-year-old Tennis legend retired at the 2022 US Open, confirming to Vogue in an interview that "she wants to evolve away from Tennis."

Kim Clijsters

The Belgian is the first professional Tennis player to return to World No1 after becoming a mother. Also, she became the first Belgian player to attain the No. 1 ranking.

Clijsters won 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She was a three-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships, has been a champion at all four Grand Slam tournaments, and the French Open in doubles. Her success at these majors were highlighted by winning three consecutive appearances at the US Open.

She retired from Tennis in 2007 at the age 23 to get married and have a daughter. Then returned two years later and won her second US Open title as an unranked player in just her third tournament back. She defended her title in 2018 and then won the Australian Open in 2019, en route to becoming the first mother to be the world No.1, along with Margaret Court, to hold the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a mother, and was the first to win one since 1980.

Clijsters retired again following the 2012 US Open. Seven years later, she began a second comeback in early 2020, ending in 2022.

Tatjana Maria

One of the very few athletes whose career resurrected after becoming a mother in 2013, the German in November 2017, reached her best singles ranking of world No. 46, and in June 2016, she peaked at No. 54 in the doubles rankings.

At the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Maria reached the semifinals, becoming the sixth female player in the Open Era over age 34 to achieve the feat and the sixth woman from Germany. She lost her semifinal match to the second seed and world No.2, Ons Jabeur in three sets.

This made her the first mother-of-two to make the last four of a major since 1975, and only the fourth player ranked outside the top 100 to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

For her outstanding performances in 2022, she was named the WTA Comeback Player Of the Year.

Lindsay Davenport

A mother of four, Davenport took a break from competitive tennis in late 2006 and much of 2007 to have a baby. In 2007, she gave birth to a son and then a daughter in 2009. She had her third child, a daughter, in 2012, and the fourth child (and third daughter) was born in 2014.

During her career, Davenport was ranked singles World No.1 for a total of 98 weeks and was the year-end singles world No.1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005).

Noted for her powerful and consistent groundstrokes, Davenport won a total of 55 WTA Tour singles titles, including three major titles without losing a set (the Australian Open in 1998, the Wimbledon Championships in 1999, and the US Open in 2000), plus a Gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

She also won 38 WTA Tour doubles titles, including three major titles (the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open), and three Tour Finals.

Davenport retired in 2011 after getting pregnant with her third child.

Considering the illustrious tennis players stated above, do you think Osaka can make a statement comeback in the sport?