Naomi Osaka lost to Victoria Mboko in the WTA 1000 Montreal final, but her comeback is still moving in the right direction.

Naomi Osaka’s return to the court at the Canadian Open should have been a “welcome back” moment. Instead, it turned into an awkward PR disaster that had fans and critics raising their eyebrows.

Wednesday night at the Canadian Open in Montreal, Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who hasn’t won a tournament since the Australian Open in 2021, had her way with Clara Tauson of Denmark early and outslugged her late to win 6-2, 7-6 (7) to make her first final of a tour event since January in New Zealand.