Naomi Osaka's highly anticipated Grand Slam return at the Australian Open ended in a narrow first-round defeat by France's Caroline Garcia.
Two-time champion Osaka, at her first major since the US Open in September 2022 after giving birth last year, lost 6-4 7-6 (7-2) to the 16th seed.
"I felt like I did the best that I could possibly do. I was a little bit overthinking in my head," Osaka said.
Meanwhile, US Open championCoco Gauff cruised through thanks to a pep talk.
The 19-year-old American, who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in September, won 6-3 6-0 against Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
"I told myself: 'I feel good, I look good so just have fun.' I was able to relax," the fourth seed said.
However, Wimbledon champion and seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova suffered a shock exit on day two at Melbourne Park.
Osaka 'frustrated' not to 'do better' on return
It has been just six months since Osaka gave birth to daughter Shai and the Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion said before the Australian Open that she has returned to the sport with a more positive outlook and fresh perspective.
She made her return in Brisbane a fortnight ago, beating Tamara Korpatsch before a narrow loss to Karolina Pliskova.
Based on her performance against Garcia, in front of a Rod Laver Arena crowd eagerly waiting to see just what kind of form she would be in, it may not be long before the 26-year-old is back to her title-winning best.
"I have to tell myself 'hey, six months ago you were pregnant'. Of course there's a voice in my head that is saying 'who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches?'" Osaka said after the loss.
"I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyways. So I guess just being nicer to myself is a key thing that I learned in my time away."
Although this is the first time Osaka has lost an opening-round match in Melbourne, it was against an in-form Garcia, whose magnificent serving neutralised Osaka's own crisp hitting and the Frenchwoman did not face a break point all match.
Garcia punished Osaka's errors to break in the fifth game of the opening set and then, after an evenly contested second set, showed composure in the tie-break to seal a deserved victory.
Osaka said it has been difficult being away from daughter but that she is "grateful" to have "learned a lot" during her trip.
"I got a video of someone saying, 'Shai says good luck' - it was really cute," said Osaka. "It made me happy and motivated, but at the same time a little frustrated because I felt like I should do better with the time I had away from her."
