Naomi Osaka is one of the most interesting characters on tour, given how open and honest she has been about her emotions throughout her career.
Whilst quite shy and reserved on the surface, the bravery it took for her to admit that she was struggling, and then to take a step away from the game that had given her everything, was monumental.
But, now back and supposedly feeling better than ever, we could soon be set to see the best version of Osaka, free from any struggles she might have previously been facing.
Naomi Osaka on how she’s becoming a better player
Speaking on the Tennis Insider podcast, the Japanese tennis star recently combed through his career, which is only really just getting restarted after taking a hiatus before giving birth to her first child.
The 26-year-old still has her entire career ahead of her, and with four Grand Slam titles already won could easily retire with more accolades than most will get after playing for over a decade.
However, she is back and seemingly enjoying tennis more than ever, having even made enough progress to suggest that she is a better player than she was before when she won those honours.
Naomi Osaka was tentative in these claims, but still noted: ‘It’s weird because I want to say I might be a better player, just in terms of I’m putting in a lot more effort on clay and grass and I can honestly say I have never done that before. I have committed so much and I’m playing so many more tournaments than I ever have.
‘Hopefully, I can say I am a better player but it’s hard to say that when you aren’t winning as much as you are used to, so that’s something I am very privileged to say. But in terms of performances, I keep playing really great players!’
Andy Roddick pointed out that Naomi Osaka was doing something he had never seen before back in June, and now this new claim has been reaffirmed by the player herself.
Naomi Osaka could threaten for titles during this hard-court period
Having enjoyed the bulk of her success in the WTA on hard courts, it makes sense that this leg of the tour would be the most profitable for her.
After all, all four of her Grand Slam titles have come on that surface, two in New York and two in Melbourne, whilst her first ever WTA title was at Indian Wells too.
So, having slowly been building throughout a stuttered 2024, reaching her current world ranking of 95th, now marks the perfect time to catapult that to new heights since her comeback to the sport, first in Canada and later in the USA.
Having become a far more well-rounded tennis player since returning to the tour, inexplicably turning into a very real threat on grass and especially clay as well, it feels like in a year or two we could be seeing an all-court monster ready to threaten on all fronts.
And that could be kickstarted now, during this leg of the tour, with a strong run across this American run of tournaments to provide a fine ranking foundation for 2025.
She will face a true threat early on in this conquest though, as she is set to meet Ons Jabeur in the first round in Toronto. This will mark a real test of where she is at after a disappointing Wimbledon and Olympics campaign.
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