Naomi Osaka admits she got ‘really sick’ during the winter break as she loses her first match of 2026

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Naomi Osaka’s first match of 2026 didn’t quite go to plan.

Making her United Cup debut, Osaka lost to Maria Sakkari in straight sets, 4-6, 2-6.

After the match, former British tennis star Laura Robson suggested that Osaka looked ‘a little bit flat physically’.

Asked about her physical condition during her post-match press conference, the Japanese star shared the following update.

Naomi Osaka was ‘really sick’ over the winter break and is ‘shocked’ she still hasn’t recovered

“I kind of have been dealing with some health stuff, so I’m kind of just happy to be out here right now. It’s not like serious, but yeah,” she said.

“I mean, I’m not operating at the percent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks because, like, I had a really good off-season, so I thought I was going to do really well here.

“Then I got really sick. I think I’m at the tail end of that, but still not amazing.

“So yeah, I feel like for me, I’m just trying to get better every day. Obviously, I had a cough, like a runny nose, like all that nasty stuff.

“Hopefully it goes away before the Australian Open.”

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Osaka thinks she’s been unwell for over a week now and is surprised by the length of her recovery.

“Honestly, it’s been a minute, which is why I’m shocked that I still have it. I think I got it from my daughter,” she said.

“I want to say, like before Christmas Eve.”

Osaka is determined to recover in time for the Australian Open, but still wants to perform for her team at the United Cup.

“For me, that’s why I also really appreciate being here because you feel the team atmosphere, it makes you want to go out and do your best and do something,” she said.

“I feel very apologetic that I couldn’t get the win.

“I don’t know, we’re all here to try our best. If it doesn’t work out, it sucks, but we’re going to just try again another day.”

Providing she’s fit to do so, Osaka will return to play her second singles match at the United Cup on Sunday, January 4, when Japan take on Great Britain.

She’s likely to face off against the British number one, Emma Raducanu.

The pair have met once before, at the 2025 Washington Open.

There, Raducanu beat the four-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.

Only time will tell if she can repeat the feat when they battle it out in Perth…

Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open record

Osaka already has one eye on the Australian Open, and understandably so, given the success she’s enjoyed in Melbourne over the years.

The Japanese star has won 79% of the matches she’s played at the tournament, winning titles in 2019 and 2021.

She has, however, failed to reach the fourth round in any of her previous three Australian Open tournaments.

12 months ago, Osaka retired with an injury during the first set of her third-round clash with Belinda Bencic.

She’ll be hoping to make a deeper run in 2026, and showed she still possesses that elite level during her last Grand Slam outing in New York.

Backing up her impressive run to the Canadian Open final earlier in the summer, Osaka reached the US Open semis before losing to Amanda Anisimova.

Naomi Osaka at the 2025 US Open

• 2025 US Open 1R [WIN] vs Greet Minnen, 6-3, 6-4
• 2025 US Open 2R [WIN] vs Hailey Baptiste, 6-3, 6-1
• 2025 US Open 3R [WIN] vs Daria Kasatkina, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
• 2025 US Open 4R [WIN] vs Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-2
• 2025 US Open QF [WIN] vs Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 7-6
• 2025 US Open SF [LOSS] vs Amanda Anisimova, 7-6, 6-7, 3-6

Whether she can go one step further and reach the final in Melbourne remains to be seen…

The 2026 Australian Open will begin on Sunday, January 18.