Heading into the 2025 U.S. Open, Naomi Osaka is feeling “excited.” Being in New York, she says, is “nostalgic” for her; “I grew up here, so it’s like home.” Her family, too, still has strong ties to the city. Every time she’s in town, she says, she likes to go visit her maternal grandmother, who lives in Elmont, Queens. “I love ordering Haitian food and walking around the city.”
Osaka, 27, is a four-time Grand Slam champion—including two U.S. Open titles, in 2018 and 2020—and she is coming off an impressive summer, with a notably strong showing at the Canadian Open. Tonight, she plays in the first round against Belgium’s Greet Minnen. The two have played just once before, at the 2024 Madrid Open, where Osaka won in straight sets.
Her 2-year-old daughter, Shai, might be there to cheer her on. “I feel good about it,” Osaka tells T&C of the possibility of her daughter watching her compete. “I’m not really sure if I’m going to commit to it fully. I still don’t know how it would be because she’s never been in front of so many different people before, so we’ll figure it out.” She adds that Shai loves tennis. “She’s watched me on the TV before and she has her own little mini rackets,” Osaka explains.
Preparing for the Open, she is trying to shake any routines and be “less superstitious.” “It’s tough,” she says. “Even if I think about it too much, then I might slip back into it. I’m just trying to be a little less stiff, maybe, and knowing that it’ll be okay.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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