Naomi Osaka says what is ‘extremely scary’ about tennis that gives her ‘nightmares’

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Naomi Osaka has endured a difficult time of late, and will be keen to get back to her best as soon as possible.

Osaka’s main goal is to be seeded for Australia next year, having won the Australian Open in both 2019 and 2021.

The latter came under the guidance of coach Wim Fissette, along with the 2020 US Open title, but Osaka now has a new coach by her side.

Having recently parted ways with Holger Rune, Patrick Mouratoglou is now looking to form a strong bond with Osaka.

And they have gotten off to a strong start, with the four-time Grand Slam champion into the China Open round of 16.

Naomi Osaka loves what Zhang Shuai is doing at the China Open

But her story has not drawn as much attention as that of Zhang Shuai, with the world number 595 into the China Open quarter-finals.

Her first round victory brought an end to a 24-match losing streak, with Osaka saying in her latest press conference just how happy she is for Shuai.

“I feel like when I got on tour she adopted me, in a way,” said Osaka. “She’s been incredibly nice to me this entire time I’ve been on tour. I have an extremely big soft spot for her.

“It’s hard for me not to be emotional when I see her doing well because I know her struggles and we’ve kind of struggled together, too. I love her a lot. I think she has such a warm heart.”

Losing two successive matches gives Naomi Osaka ‘nightmares’

The world number 595 has come from the very bottom to reach the latter stages in Beijing, having lost 24 straight matches over a 20-month period.

Her stunning turnaround includes a top-10 victory, with Shuai beating sixth seed Emma Navarro in the round of 64.

It is, however, a situation that Osaka cannot comprehend, with the four-time Grand Slam winner praising Shuai after she ended her 603 day losing streak.

“I can’t relate to that because for me, that’s extremely scary,” said Osaka. “Losing two matches in a row gives me nightmares, so the mental resilience it takes to lose 24, I can’t understand it.

“It’s a testament to how much she loves the sport, because I see her practising every day after she loses or whenever we’re at the same tournament. She’s just a really pure person.”