‘Six Months Ago You Were Pregnant’ – Naomi Osaka’s Self-Critical Side Asks Chastening Question as Australian Open Hopes Fade Into Nothingness

The 2024 Australian Open is a special one for mothers. As many as eight moms are participating in this tournament, including the likes of Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina. Additionally, Japanese tennis star, Naomi Osaka, also made a comeback here. In her first Grand Slam tournament post giving birth to her child, Osaka didn’t have things going her way. She bowed out of the tournament in the first round. Following her heartbreaking loss, the 26-year-old reflected on the match.

Osaka went down fighting against France’s Caroline Garcia in straight sets earlier today. It ended her hopes of a strong comeback that she was hoping for. Here’s what Osaka had to say about her performance.

Naomi Osaka reasons out her comeback defeats

Following her loss against Caroline Garcia, Osaka was involved in an engaging conversation at the post-match press conference. During the interview, the interviewer asked Osaka if her opponent’s good serving days made it easier to defeat her. However, Osaka remained self-critical while replying to that question.

She said, “Yes and no. Like, of course I have to tell myself, Hey, like six months ago you were pregnant, stuff like that. Of course, like, there’s a voice in my head that is, Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches? I don’t know.”

Further, Osaka went on to add, “I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyways. So I guess just being nicer to myself is like a key thing that I learned in my time away. But it is really tough to I guess play a good server and not make too many returns.”

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Although positive of a good return, Osaka admitted that she had major shortcomings during her comeback. The Japanese star had never felt such issues during her glory days. As a result, she didn’t have the desired result at the Grand Slam Down Under.

Osaka highlights major weaknesses in her game

The 26-year-old made a comeback to the sport at the Brisbane International ahead of the Australian Open. However, she lost in the second round of the tournament against Karolina Pliskova. Like the Australian Open, she drew a self-critical side while analyzing this defeat.

Talking about it, Osaka said, “In the match against Pliskova, I felt that my serve was good enough. But at the same time, I wish my return was even 10% better.” With her best form behind her, Osaka will have her task cut out as she prepares for upcoming tournaments. She needs to go back to the drawing board again and plan out her upcoming events strategically.

Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see how she fights back from the disappointment of the Australian Open exit. Will she be able to go big in the subsequent tournaments of the year?

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