There was a moment, between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, that Naomi Osaka was dominating the WTA Tour. A dominance that seemed to have nothing to challenge the Japanese. Then, from Roland Garros 2021 and the revelation of her mental health problems, she collapsed, first taking a break from tennis, then, after a first come back, the wonderful news of maternity, which would have kept her out of the WTA Tour for another year.
Naomi now came back, even if the Japanese has not yet managed to find her dominant tennis again. A return to the top that is struggling to take off. Osaka’s goals after the birth of her daughter were decidedly ambitious: to return to the top and demonstrate that she can still compete in the big tournaments. Back on the WTA Tour after a fifteen-month absence from the tennis courts, some physical problems have slowed down the recovery of the Japanese tennis player, who has struggled to be able to give continuity to her results.
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After the umpteenth elimination, in the second qualifying round of the Cincinnati Open against the American Next Gen Ashlyn Krueger, the Japanese explained with a post on Instagram that she still does not feel like herself on the court. With the last Slam of the year, the US Open, just a few weeks away, the two-time champion in New York currently sits at 90th in the WTA rankings
“My biggest problem right now is not the losses, but the fact that I don’t feel in my body. It’s a strange feeling, losing points I shouldn’t lose, hitting softer balls than I remember using. I try to tell myself: It’s okay, you’re doing great. Try to get through this moment and keep pushing, but mentally it’s really hard. Internally I feel like I’m screaming: What the hell is going on?!?! This year I’ve played a handful of matches where I felt like myself and I know that this moment is probably just a small phase of all the new transitions (clay, grass, clay, hard), but the only feeling I could compare to the one I feel right now is postpartum. This scares me because I’ve been playing tennis since I was three, the racket should feel like an extension of my hand. It should be as simple as breathing for me, but it’s not. I honestly didn’t realize that fact until recently,” she explained with brutal honesty.
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The four-time Grand Slam champion finally concluded with a thought for her daughter: “During this time I asked myself what I want from this experience and I realized something. I love the process — even if the process doesn’t love me sometimes — working every day and then having the opportunity to get to where you want to be. I know that life is not guaranteed, so I want to do the best I can with the time I have, I want to teach my daughter that she can achieve a lot with hard work and perseverance. I want her to reach for the stars and never think that her dreams are too big. Nothing in life is promised, but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and to give my best until the end. See you in New York,” she then wrote, via a long Instagram post.
Will we ever see the real Naomi Osaka again? I am convinced so. She is still very young and still has plenty of time to see back what she left behind. I also believe that this year we saw the real Naomi Osaka in the match at Roland Garros against Iga Swiatek. The Japanese played on par with the Polish and, indeed, in some cases seemed superior. Naomi seemed like the ruler admired until mid-2021. She just needs time and trust. Her tennis will return accordingly.
A few days ago, in the press conference to present the National Baseball Open in Toronto, Naomi said:
“In Tokyo I was very stressed instead I have to say that in Paris I enjoyed myself much more, there were more spectators and therefore compared to a few years ago it was very different. I decided not to stay in the Olympic Village and that makes me feel a little sad, so you didn’t have a full experience and I hope to be able to play in the Olympic tournament in Los Angeles. Overall it was a great experience. I lost at the Olympics. I was really devastated, but with my team by my side. I came home and saw my daughter, she was happy and that made me feel good.
When I was younger my only goal was tennis, she made me understand that there are many other things in life and that the world is very beautiful. I honestly wasn’t sure what my next move would be, in the past I cried on the court because I was frustrated. At the Olympics I watched Iga train and I want to get back to that level, I want to play like the great players. Why did I watch Iga? Watching the big players I always have something to learn, I know she has one of the best movements in the WTA and I try to take inspiration from them,” she analyzed.