NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 26: Naomi Osaka of Japan in action against Greet Minnen of Belgium in the first round on Day 3 of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 26, 2025 in New York City (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
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Naomi Osaka’s Tubi documentary Naomi Osaka: The Second Set premiered on August 24. Produced with Nike, the film follows her return to tennis after giving birth to her daughter, Shai. Like many women, Osaka is not immune to postpartum career challenges. “When a woman is like giving birth is the most painful thing ever, they’re not exaggerating,” she says while training three months after delivery, preparing for the 2024 Australian Open.
In the film, she frames her return as a new adventure, not a comeback. “A comeback doesn’t give you any room to grow,” Osaka says. “You’re limited to come back into what you exactly were before. I want to be a different person and I want to be a better person.” Anthropologists call this transition matrescence: a process of personal transformation that will inevitably shape her career.
Fans and fellow players acknowledge her transformation in the documentary. “I have a lot of respect for Naomi, for having a baby and coming back so fast,” said pro tennis player Ons Jabeur. “She gives us future moms hope to not be afraid to come back.” Osaka immediately placed high expectations on herself, believing childbirth made her “superhuman” and that she could quickly return to doing extraordinary things. But reality reminded her to trust the process, and that recovery takes time.
In the film Osaka admits to having postpartum depression, writing about the experience and weighing the value of time away from her daughter against how much she wins. Her journey also echoes a broader workplace truth for many women. As she wrestled with dark thoughts like—”Shai deserves a better mom than you” and “who are you to think that you can come back?”—she embodies the self-doubt women face after maternity leave. The thoughts reflect both internal uncertainty and external bias: mothers often fear they are no longer the same employees they once were, that they are now inferior, and that colleagues may view them as less committed.
Too often, workplaces still treat caregiving as an interruption rather than a natural part of life. The result is an internalized doubt fueled by systemic bias and the daily pressures of sleepless nights, new responsibilities, and the demand to perform as if nothing has changed. As Osaka’s Creative Director Carly Duguid states, “a man can have a baby and have a family and [have]
it not affect even one day of his professional career.”
Last Tuesday, Osaka wore a red-and-black Nike outfit in her first-round US Open victory, a color choice that created an inadvertent homage to Serena Williams’ 2018 French Open catsuit. Williams wore her red-and-black Nike outfit after becoming a new mom as well, only to see officials ban the outfit soon after.
Serena Williams of the US prepares to serve to Germany’s Julia Goerges during their women’s singles third round match on day seven of The Roland Garros 2018 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 2, 2018. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Whether homage or coincidence, it signals strength, defiance, and maternal resilience. In both cases, clothing was a declaration that motherhood does not sideline greatness.
Williams and Osaka illustrate two stages of motherhood in tennis. Williams, already a legend, gave birth in 2017, withdrew from the 2018 Australian Open due to complications, and returned at the 2019 French Open. Osaka, still in her prime, gave birth in 2023 and returned in 2024. Today, Osaka prepares for a fourth-round high-profile rematch with Gauff at the 2025 US Open. Osaka is navigating a return after a widely publicized mental health break and maternity leave.
For mothers like Osaka, their workplace reminds them of their resilience and self-worth. She mentions in the documentary that returning to the court reminded her of her purpose and gave her a sense of self outside of sleepless nights and maternal guilt. Her career is her paycheck, and her lifeline.
Osaka’s story shows that motherhood is not a detour from ambition but a redefinition of it. By sharing her struggles with postpartum depression and showing up on tennis’ biggest stages, she reframes what resilience looks like for working mothers everywhere. Her journey to the US Open is less about reclaiming what she once had and more about proving that growth, identity, and greatness can evolve alongside motherhood.
AloJapan.com