The four-time Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka, gave birth to her daughter, Shai, on July 7 this year. She announced the news of her childbirth on Instagram a few days later. Over the last couple of months, Osaka has enthusiastically discussed her tennis return. In one of her interviews, she expressed extra motivation to excel because of her daughter and said she wanted to win eight more Grand Slams!
However, in the past, Osaka believed that getting pregnant would mark the end of her pro tennis career. In the Mountaintop Conversations podcast, Osaka discussed the pressure of balancing motherhood and her tennis career. She admitted that she used to assume having a child would basically mean the end of her career, pointing out the scarcity of women on the tennis tour with kids.
She said, “Actually, there was a lot of pressure I felt for me. For me, I always had the assumption that if you have a kid, it’s basically the end of your career.” Additionally, she noted the physical toll it seemed to take on their bodies. Nevertheless, the experience of becoming a mother was magical for her, making her appreciate the things she loves even more and driving her to work harder.
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She voiced her irritation at the difference in how male athletes experience having children, without facing the same repercussions on their careers. However, that realization helped to ease some of the pressure she initially felt about motherhood affecting her tennis aspirations.
“I’ve played tennis since I was three, and I want to appreciate the time that I can still play. In my head, I wondered why guys younger than me or around the same age as me are able to have kids and they’re kind of just walking around like ‘Everything is fine!’,” Osaka said.
As a four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka aims to return to action at the start of the 2024 season in Australia, despite not participating in any tournaments in 2023. Naomi Osaka’s journey into motherhood and her determination to balance it with her tennis career serve as an inspiring example for female athletes facing similar challenges.
Naomi Osaka and her mental health struggles
In a dramatic turn of events during the French Open 2021, Naomi Osaka, the then world no. 2 and the highest-paid female athlete, shocked the tennis world by withdrawing from the tournament after winning her first-round match and blatantly refusing to attend the press conference citing personal reasons. The powerful officials found themselves in a high-stakes standoff with the charismatic next-gen star of the sport.
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players, and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” declared Osaka in an Instagram post.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
She further revealed the deeply troubling reason behind her decision. The 23-year-old tennis sensation disclosed her battle with depression and anxiety, a struggle that originated 3 years ago, after her triumphant victory over Serena Williams at the 2018 United States Open, in an emotionally charged match where the crowd fervently supported her opponent.
Noami who had been an introvert from childhood had bouts of social anxiety after becoming the world no. 1 and winning both US Open and Australian Open twice. She shockingly reveals that she never felt happy inside after winning those trophies because of the mental issues that she was plagued with.
In that turbulent year of 2021, Osaka pulled out of Wimbledon, stating that she needed “personal time for herself with friends and family.” Despite her attempt to make a comeback for the Olympics, the pressure of returning to the limelight in her home country played a factor in her third-round loss.
At the US Open in September, Osaka faced a defeat at the hands of Leylah Fernandez. In the process, she threw her racket three times and received a code violation for firing a ball at the spectators. When questioned about her behavior, she expressed her feeling of being “very anxious when things don’t go her way.”
Subsequently, Osaka announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport to focus on her mental well-being. During the course of recovering from her mental health issues, Osaka revealed that she sought therapy, found comfort in her dog’s company, embraced calming music, and decided to slow down to cope with her mental health challenges.