Kerber gets second win after maternity leave, in Indian Wells

Former world number one Angelique Kerber claimed a second victory since her return to tennis from maternity leave when she beat Petra Martic 6-3, 6-4 at the Indian Wells Masters on Wednesday.

Germany's Kerber, 36, won the first-round match in 1 hour 29 minutes and next faces 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko.

Three-time grand slam champion Kerber had come to California with just one victory from seven matches since her return after giving birth to a daughter in February 2023, at the United Cup in early January against Ajla Tomljanovic.

She then lost in the first round at the Australian Open and in Linz, Austria.

"It feels so good to be back here and to give it my all. I tried to move well and hit the ball. It is not so easy without a lot of matches but I will try to stay here as long as possible and to get as many matches as possible," Kerber said.

Elsewhere, 2021 champion Paula Badosa withdrew on the opening day stating a lower back injury.