Naomi Osaka has acknowledged that during her time on the sidelines in 2023, she rediscovered her love for tennis.
The Japanese had to take a break from the game while on maternity leave, and she will now begin her 2024 season in the Brisbane International with a first-round match against Tamara Korpatsch. Osaka and rapper Cordae welcomed their baby Shai in July, and the former has been training hard since then.
Naomi Osaka stated during her pre-tournament news conference in Brisbane that watching other players go about their business this year made her enjoy tennis all over again.
Watching Carlos Alcaraz kill opponents with drop shots at Wimbledon, a tournament he eventually won, inspired the four-time Grand Slam champion to try the same.
“Of course, I’m not going to say that I’ve never enjoyed tennis. Of course, I enjoyed it. After a while, I suppose I just felt more relieved to win, if that makes sense. It was difficult to deal with that. “I felt more relieved than happy to win,” Naomi Osaka remarked.”Yeah, I think for me, it’s just having this time away watching other players and really appreciating them.” I recall watching Wimbledon and seeing Alcaraz go to the court and practice dropshots because I want to play like he plays. “I guess it’s kind of like being a kid again, being inspired by other players and wanting to play on the big courts,” she continued.
Naomi Osaka also discussed her mental state as she prepares to compete for the first time in a long time at the Tokyo Open in 2022. The 26-year-old actress admitted that she is scared since she has a lot going on in her thoughts.
Regardless, Osaka is looking forward to returning to the tennis court and absorbing the excitement of the innumerable supporters cheering her on from the bleachers.
“I definitely feel nervous because I haven’t played a match in a long time, but I’m competitive, so I’m thinking I’m nervous because I want to win.” “I have a lot going on in my head,” Naomi Osaka explained.”I think the biggest thing is just walking onto the court and sort of absorbing all the energy and experiencing the atmosphere for me is something that I’m definitely going to treasure a lot,” she said.
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