Having taken a break at her peak over mental health issues, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka rediscovers her love and hunger for tennis after becoming a mother
Naomi Osaka started training three months after giving birth to her daughter Shai in July. In January, three months later, the 26-year-old was back on the
WTA Tour
.
The most trying part of getting back to work so quickly for the first time mother was that the results took time coming.
"It felt like I was driving a car that wasn't mine, my body didn't feel like the body that I was used to," Osaka said.
"It was in that journey that I learned how to love myself as I am now, and it was a really special feeling. I got to wake up every day and see my daughter and know that I was strong enough for her to come into this world."
As defining as those days and months were for the Japanese superstar, it was not long ago that she competed rather sparingly in her most dominant years yet. The former No.1, who won back-to-back
Grand Slam
titles at the 2018
US Open
and the 2019 Australian Open, played just four tournaments in 2020, partly because of the pandemic.
Her voice, however, resonated beyond the chalked of a tennis court, drawing attention to causes. During the
WTA
1000 in August, where she initially withdrew from her semifinal to raise awareness for the police shooting of Jacob Blake, only stayed in the tournament after authorities chose to support her cause.
At the US Open, Osaka walked onto the court for her seven matches wearing a different black mask, each of which carried the name of an African American who had been killed in recent years. She won the US Open for her third major title and her fourth followed in Melbourne Park in January 2021.
Some three days before the start of the 2021
French Open
, Osaka announced that she would not engage in mandatory post-match media conferences for the fortnight. Among the reasons the then world No.2 listed was questions 'bring doubts' to the minds of players. After her first-round match she refused to come to press for which she was fined $15,000 and warned with rising levels of fines and possibly expulsion. The following day, she announced her withdrawal from the tournament, citing mental health issues. At the US Open in September, Osaka announced another hiatus from the sport, saying, 'winning did not make her happy anymore'.
During her maternity break last year Osaka had time to weigh her choices against her career. Time, she learnt, was an athlete's theft. "This (break) was the one that clicked in my head. I realized being an athlete, time is precious," Osaka said. "I never took that for granted before. (But) I was young and I felt like I could kind of roll back into it whenever I needed to."
"After having Shai and going through the struggle of trying to get myself back to where I want to be, I have a much more positive and grateful mindset."
The first order of business when Osaka started training was to make the call to her former coach Wim Fisette, who had parted ways with her in July 2022, when her appearances on the court became few and far between. The Japanese signed on performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger. She has a new hitting partner in Canadian Philip Bester.
Fisette coached compatriot Kim Clijsters when the Belgian made her comeback to the Tour in 2009 after the birth of her daughter Jada. Clijsters, a wildcard entry in the US Open, won the title.
Marion Bartoli, the 2013
Wimbledon
champion, and one of the sharpest voices in the women's game, who was at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open as television commentator, pointed out that the biggest question an athlete is faced with when returning to the sport is, 'can I ever play at my best level again?'
Bartoli answered that question for Osaka. "She'll be back to where she was very quickly. Her ambitions are very high. She pulled out of Dubai and is playing Indian Wells (starting March 6), and Miami, where she has been very successful. She knows what she needs to do."
Bartoli emphasized that the women's game needed Osaka to be at her best to challenge Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff as much the Japanese powerhouse was looking to succeed again.
The test for Osaka, who has won all four of her Grand Slams on hardcourts, are her immediate major hurdles Roland Garros (May) and Wimbledon (July), on clay and grass, where she has win-loss records of 7-5 and 4-3 as against 24-6 and 22-5 at Melbourne and New York. That's the inconsistency the Beverly Hills-based pro is looking to level.
"On grass it is about serving well and Naomi's serve is one of the best, probably along with Serena (Williams). Then it is about the return of serve…," Bartoli said. "On clay it is completely different, it is more about mastering the sliding, longer rallies and more variation in her game."
"Her plan is to play the full season on clay and grass. It's going to be fascinating to watch, not just how she does this year, but the next five, six, seven years," said Bartoli.
In Australia in January, Osaka spoke about the high expectations she had for the opening Grand Slam of the year, even calling her goal 'delusional'. The 26-year-old, however, was quick to add, "My delusion is what allows me to win the tournaments."
English (US) ·