‘Like He Was My Brother’ ? Naomi Osaka on Relating to Nick Kyrgios While on Tour

Both Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios have been news-worthy entities in tennis over the past few years. While four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka brought forth the conversation of mental health in athletes, Nick Kyrgios has played his career on his own terms, which has often been criticized.

Naomi Osaka reveals the bond she shares with Nick Kyrgios

Osaka also played 2021 on a limited schedule to focus on her mental health just like Kyrgios, who also chooses the tournaments he would like to play instead of ones which are expected of him. Recently, the Japanese star talked about the time when she was new to the WTA tour and how she thought of her relationship with Kyrgios.

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“When I was coming on tour, or watching him, because he?s been on tour for a very long time or not very long, but long enough. I kind of thought like he was my brother. Like we kind of look the same to me. I don?t know. And I always felt like his behavior was kind of like, I?m not trying to be offensive, like, someone that can?t really handle the pressure too well, so they are kind of overwhelmed.”

Osaka also opened up about how practicing with Kyrgios had helped her. She feels that Kyrgios, much like her, does not do the best under pressure, and this was something she could relate to.

Osaka also sheds light on how Kyrgios enjoys crowd attention

Recently, Naomi Osaka went through a tough time at the Indian Wells 2022, where her performance was derailed by a heckler amongst the audience. She was visibly upset about the incident and could not recover in time to stop an inspired performance from her opponent, Veronika Kudermetova.

The former world no.1 also spoke about playing in-front of huge crowds and getting a lot of attention for it. Osaka felt that it was something Kyrgios enjoyed a lot but the responsibility that came with it was like a ‘double-sided coin’ as it gets quite overwhelming.

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?For me, I relate to that feeling a lot, but I think we channel it in different ways.”

Osaka has been feeling a lot better these past few months and that is showing in her performance as well. She reached the quarterfinals at the Miami Open and will be facing Australian Open 2022 finalist Danielle Collins.