After an emotional hit following her third-round loss at Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka struggled to entertain a question about the intersection of motherhood and elite tennis. Osaka seemed poised for her first fourth-round spot, leading against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before conceding defeat 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
The California-based Japanese star took the setback particularly hard. At a post-match news conference where she kept her answers succinct, a question regarding her journey balancing motherhood and professional tennis visibly shook Osaka.
The 27 year old, whose daughter Shai just turned two, found it difficult to engage with the topic.
“I’m really sorry,” she offered apologetically. “Can you ask me that… no, not again, but I can’t answer that right now. Maybe another time.”
Osaka has found Grand Slams challenging recently, with an early exit at the French Open against Paula Badosa. She admitted that the loss at Wimbledon affected her differently than in Paris emotionally.
“I mean, I think in Paris I was just very… like, when I sat here, I was very emotional,” she recounted. “Now I don’t feel anything, so I guess I’d prefer to feel nothing than everything.
“I think it’s because I actually thought I could play well, like, in general. I’m not saying I didn’t play well, but [I thought I could] make a deep run here. I wanted to do better than I did before. Also, I felt like I was trying so hard. I low-key busted a vein in my hand.
“I think if I look back on it, I can be happy with how I played. I think I started getting a lot more comfortable on grass. Clearly, I need to work on a couple of things.”
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, has struggled to advance beyond the third round of a Slam since sitting out the entire 2023 season, with all her major victories occurring on the hard courts of Melbourne or Flushing Meadows.
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Despite this, Osaka remains hopeful for the upcoming U.S. Open in August, though she is cautious about shifting her focus too soon after a disappointing outcome at the All England Club.
She remarked: “Obviously, I look forward to it [the hard-court swing]. I think last year I put a lot of stress on myself because I know I have a history of playing well there [in the USA], and then also the Asian swing. I am looking forward to it, but I don’t want to kind of psych myself out.”
AloJapan.com