“Becoming a mother forced me to see life and tennis in a different way” – Naomi Osaka has gone through a lot of challenges in her life in the last few years. The biggest of all those challenges has been overcoming her struggles with mental health issues. Previously, during an interview, she claimed, “The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.” We saw her withdrawing from the 2021 French Open and Wimbledon to preserve her mental health. Overcoming all this in her life was a massive challenge, but she did it successfully. However, does she have any plans to talk about these things with Shai?

Naomi Osaka was recently announced as Maybelline’s first Brave Together ambassador to encourage awareness around mental health. During a recent interview with PEOPLE, the 26-year-old Japanese superstar spoke about the importance of mental health and how she plans to talk about it with her kid. “I think most people don’t know that mental health is as important as your physical health, and in some ways, it might be more important.” She has braved quite a few negative moments in her life. For instance, in 2022, we saw yet another disheartening moment with a spectator that nearly brought her to tears.

Over the years, she has learned quite a few things and has become “more prepared” with tools and resources to battle all of these in her life, but has she ever planned to have a discussion on these issues with her little kid? “I want [Shai] to feel like her feelings are valid and nothing that she’s going through should make her feel like she’s isolated,” said Naomi Osaka. She further added, “I think the biggest thing is that I want her to feel supported throughout her journey and throughout her feelings because I think everyone goes through their own life and we all just want to feel supported in that journey.“

Earlier this year, Naomi Osaka stated that watching other mothers and how their returns have unfolded made her appreciate the moment she is in. This time she spoke about how she has now found a support system by having other tennis moms by her side. “There are a couple of other moms on tour and we kind of go through similar things and similar feelings, so it’s nice to know that you’re not alone,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion. So, there were plenty of challenges, but she overcame them all by one. All she wants now is to be a good “role model” for her daughter and teach her little by little how to win these battles in life.

“I do want to be a good role model” – Naomi Osaka

What does it mean to be a “role model“, though? Well, a role model is someone others look to as a good example. Someone who’s worthy of imitation. Last year, while talking about being a role model for her daughter, Naomi Osaka said, “I do want to be a good role model for Shai, and I want her to see that this (tennis) was an important chapter in my life.“

Everything that she does now gives her a feeling that someone is looking up to her. “While I’m playing, I’m aware of it in the sense that I want to be a good role model for my daughter. Other than that, I think I’m pretty much trying to be the same old me,” said the WTA star. How does it feel to see kids come up in the stadiums to watch her matches? According to Naomi Osaka, representation is really important, and she believes without her role models (Serena and Venus Williams) she wouldn’t have reached where she is today. So, having good role models in life is like a one-step forward towards achieving the goals in life.

“It’s like I’m looking at kids looking at me and saying that I’m their favorite player, and knowing that they have a parent behind them that’s kind of trusting me with that is really huge,” said the Japanese tennis star. She mentioned that if her daughter Shari had a poster of a player, then she’d definitely do some research work on that person to know what type of person they were. According to Osaka, being someone’s favorite means a lot, and it’s more like paying back the trust that these kids have shown in them in the best way possible.

Since Naomi Osaka has broken almost all the chains surrounding mental health barriers, she knows a way or two about how to deal with these things in life. Getting the chance to take those lessons from a “role model” can do wonders not only in Shai’s life but also for other kids who look up to Osaka as their idol. So, learning about her plans to talk about mental health with her kid will definitely also show the path to several parents. Do you think Naomi Osaka is the perfect “role model” in women’s tennis?