The Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen kicked off on Sunday with Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty coming through tough tests to win their opening round-robin encounters in the Red Group.
After losing all three of her matches on her tournament debut last year, Naomi Osaka opened the Red Group action in the inaugural Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen by defeating Petra Kvitova, the only player in the draw who has a title from this event in her résumé.
In a rematch of their first career meeting that happened in the 2019 Australian Open final, Osaka again squeezed past the two-time Wimbledon champion, this time recovering from a break down to win the first set, then dropping the second set despite being a break up and completing the victory on her third match point, two games after failing to convert two match points on serve at 5-2 in the decider.