Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi says she's excited about returning to the court after the birth of her first child.

Osaka spoke to NHK in Los Angeles on Wednesday after practicing with her coach.

The 26-year-old has not competed in world tour events since September of last year.

Osaka plans to make her comeback at an international tournament in Australia that starts this month. She is also expected to return to Grand Slam competition at the Australian Open in January.

Osaka resumed training in October after giving birth to a daughter in July.

She said she's just happy to return to the sport. She also said she's a competitive person, and that just being back on the court will be really exciting.

She said she has never been really good at playing for herself, but as a mother she wants to show her daughter Shai the world, and play for her.

Osaka expressed ambition to win more Grand Slams, play at the Paris Olympics and achieve all that she can.

She said she decided to come back last December, during her pregnancy.

Referring to her daily life during pregnancy, Osaka said she did some weight training, but it wasn't that intense because she often had morning sickness.

She said she also gained a lot of weight because she had to eat constantly, and that she walked a lot, on the advice of her doctor.

Looking back on her career so far, Osaka said that in the first chapter of her tennis, she kind of got away with being herself and playing on instinct.

But she said that in the second chapter, she wants to study and understand the game more, and have a lot more appreciation for it.