From playing tennis at three years old to reaching the World No. 1 spot, Naomi Osaka‘s story is one of perseverance and passion! Now, she is back where it all began, and the emotions are running wild. She might be a four-time Grand Slam champion in the athletic world. But when she is back at her childhood tennis court, the Japanese tennis pro is a kid with the same ambition of becoming the best at tennis! The only difference is that now she has turned those dreams into reality.

Naomi Osaka’s 2024 season has not been entirely fruitful, with only two quarterfinal appearances so far. Her second-round elimination at Wimbledon further came as a shock, not only to her but to us as well. However, the 26-year-old is not giving up! Instead, she is drawing inspiration from her past self, an eight- or nine-year-old kid who once walked through the tennis courts of Florida, with her head held high.

Naturally, it opened the floodgates of her memories, and soon Osaka was overwhelmed with emotion. Sharing a picture of the same on her Instagram handle, the two-time U.S. Open champion wrote, “It felt good to touch these courts again 🥹❤️. Had me out here tearing up, I was so grateful.” The court was empty, but Naomi Osaka filled it with her childhood memories in mind, where she played regularly before turning pro at nearly 16 years of age. She did not have to look back after that!

Soon, she nudged into the top 250 by the end of the season. The rest is history. By the next two years, Naomi Osaka had headed for a top ranking, while making her way to the greatest Grand Slam singles, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. It took her six years to land where she always wanted to be, the World No. 1 WTA player, and she became the first Asian player to achieve the feat. 

Although occasional injuries and, later on, her mental health struggles posed some difficulties in her journey, she eventually came through. And after taking a short hiatus owing to her pregnancy last year, Naomi Osaka has returned to the competition once again this year. And she aims for the grandest platform, the Olympics, citing her childhood goal as one of the reasons behind her drive to success!

Naomi Osaka’s Olympic dreams have a tinge of nostalgia wrapped around them!

Naomi Osaka’s reason to participate in the Olympics is more than just to prove herself. Rather, it is an opportunity to relive her childhood days, but not through the lens of a television this time. “I mean, for me the Olympics means so much to me growing up as a kid; that’s like the one event I remember just pooling around the TV with my sister. “And we mainly loved watching track but basically all the sports were fair game and I just love being around other athletes and I love the team spirit of it all.” She said this earlier in an interview, referring to her sister and former tennis player, Mari Osaka.

Keeping herself separate from the list of players who are opting not to change surfaces and play on the clay court of Roland Garros in Paris, Naomi Osaka keeps her goal straight. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Osaka held the title of the first tennis player to light the Olympic couldron, but sadly, her journey ended in the third round of the event. However, her hopes are high this season, and her aim is to bag a gold medal. Visiting her childhood tennis court might be the very thing that she needs to stay more focused on her upcoming Games. After all, it is also a poignant reminder of the path that she has taken to become one of the greatest tennis players in the world!