Naomi Osaka is opening up after her loss at the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion failed to make the main draw in Cincinnati after losing in a qualifying match against Ashlyn Krueger. On Sunday, she won her opening match in the qualifying tournament against Anna Blinkova.
On Tuesday, Osaka took to Instagram to reflect on the loss and said that what she’s feeling is similar to “being postpartum.”
“In a weird way I’ve come to appreciate losses, you don’t play tennis for 20+ years without your fair share of them,” Osaka began. “You learn from a loss and then eagerly await your next opportunity to put what you learned to test.”
“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” she continued. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try and tell myself ‘it’s fine you’re doing great, just get through this one and keep pushing’, mentally it’s really draining though.”
“Internally I hear myself screaming ‘what the hell is happening?!?!'” she added.
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks across the court during her match against Ashlyn Krueger of the United States (not pictured) during Day 2 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Aug. 12, 2024 in Mason, Ohio.
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The two-time U.S. Open champion went on and acknowledged that Monday’s loss is possibly part of “a small phase from all the new transitions (clay, grass, clay, hard etc),” but said she could only like the feeling that she’s experiencing to “being postpartum.”
“That scares [me] because I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, the tennis racquet should feel like an extension of my hand,” she said. “I don’t understand why everything has to feel almost brand new again. This should be as simple as breathing to me but it’s not and I genuinely did not give myself grace for that fact until just now.”
Osaka said that she is learning and will continue to put in the work every day — which is something she hopes to teach her daughter.
Naomi Osaka of Japan plays against Elise Mertens of Belgium during Day 3 of the National Bank Open, part of the Hologic WTA Tour at Sobeys Stadium on Aug. 8, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.
Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
“I love the process (though the process doesn’t love me sometimes haha), putting in work everyday and eventually having the opportunity to get to where you want to be,” she said. “I know life isn’t guaranteed so I want to do the best that I can with the time that I have, I want to teach my daughter that she can achieve so many things with hard work and perseverance. I want her to aim for the stars and never think her dreams are too big.”
“Nothing in life is promised but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and give it my best shot till the very end,” she added.
Osaka ended her message with, “See you in New York ♥️,” noting that she will play again at the U.S. Open at the end of the month.
2024 marks Osaka’s tennis comeback a year after welcoming her daughter in July 2023.
Last month, she competed in singles at the Olympics but lost to Angelique Kerber in the first round.