Naomi Osaka has addressed her illness after losing to Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the first round of the United Cup, a mixed-team event in Australia. Representing Japan, an ailing Osaka went down 6-4, 6-2 against Sakkari on Friday, Jan. 2, as the 2026 season begins.
After giving birth to her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, Osaka returned to the tour at the beginning of 2024. The four-time Grand Slam champion has seen steady improvement in her game ever since, though she is still far from her best.
At a press conference on Friday, Osaka was asked about her coughing during the match and how she felt on the court. The 28-year-old said (via ASAPtext):
“I have been dealing with some health stuff, so I’m kind of just happy to be out here right now. It’s not like serious, but yeah. I think I got it from my daughter (smiling). I want to say, like before Christmas Eve. I’m not operating at the percent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks because, like, I had a really good off-season, so I thought I was going to do really well here. Then I got really sick. I think I’m at the tail end of that, but still not amazing.”
“So yeah, I feel like for me, I’m just trying to get better every day. Obviously, I had a cough, like a runny nose, like all that nasty stuff, yeah. Hopefully, it goes away before the Australian Open,” she added.
Team Japan is part of Group E, which also features Greece and Great Britain. Osaka will lock horns with Emma Raducanu when Japan clashes with Great Britain on Sunday, Jan. 4. The fourth edition of the tournament is being held across Perth and Sydney.
Naomi Osaka Weighs in on Balancing Tennis and Motherhood
At a press conference ahead of her match against Maria Sakkari, Naomi Osaka opened up about the challenge of juggling between tennis and looking after her daughter, Shai.
“I would say it’s definitely really tough. This off-season was quite difficult for me, as well, just because you try to be there for her all the time, and obviously, there are moments where you have to practice or you have to do something. It is really difficult,” Osaka told The Tennis Gazette.
“I hope that I’m managing it or I’m juggling it well. I also hope there’s going to come a time that she understands why I did the things that I did,” she added.
Osaka finished the 2025 season as the World No. 16, winning 35 of her 50 matches, though she couldn’t add a title to her cabinet.
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