Naomi Osaka is a former world number one and a four-time Grand Slam champion, but took the brave decision to pause her career last year in order to have a child.
To take a step off the tennis pedestal is always bound to force a shift in priorities, but since returning it feels like she now boasts a newfound appreciation now just for the sport, but for life as a whole.
Everything seems to be taking on new meanings, and therefore there is not as much pressure to perform as there once was.
This refreshing outlook has seen her ease back into playing, and whilst she remains as dynamic and incensed as ever, the positivity she shows even in the face of defeat is so good to see.
But her unwavering mindset remains, and that is certain to help her reestablish herself as one of the best players sooner rather than later.
Naomi Osaka explains how she rose to the top of tennis
Chatting with The Guardian, the Japanese tennis star offered an insightful look into her thoughts as a tennis star seeking to return from giving birth back in July 2023.
It has been a long and arduous road to return to the sport which she dominated for a period, and in doing so she has learnt to be more patient.
She admitted: I’m the type of person who wants things to happen quickly, but I’m just understanding that tennis has come such a long way and these are the best players in the world.’
However, it was her ability to dream big that arguably led to her mesmeric rise to the pinnacle of tennis, which she also laughed about.
‘I’ve had this since I was little,’ she claimed. ‘But the people they call crazy are usually the ones that are the people that do something really spectacular
‘My delusional trait is probably me daydreaming and inventing a scenario I want to happen and sometimes they do happen.’
Naomi Osaka is slowly enjoying her comeback
2024 has not been the speedy, transformative year that Osaka might have dreamt of, but at just 26 years old, she has time.
So, there is no mad rush for her to return to the top of the sport, and therefore she can take things at her own pace. Given the steady stream of impressive results she has gained in the last five months, that is clearly what she has doing.
Not only that, but she has even begun to perform more admirably on clay of late too, a surface that she notoriously struggled with even in her prime. Just last week she enjoyed a run to the Round of 16 in the Madrid Open, only losing to the seventh seed. Qinwen Zheng assessed Osaka’s performance after, and was very complimentary.
It feels like she is seldom blown away, and by quietly reaching solid stages in these difficult competitions, Osaka is building her ranking.
She is actually currently number 37 on the yearly WTA race, an admirable return thus far.
Hopefully, should she be able to return to that seeded position soon, those deeper runs will only occur more regularly, and she can start to dream once again.
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