via Getty
Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates winning match point during her Women’s Singles final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Day Thirteen of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
via Getty
Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates winning match point during her Women’s Singles final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Day Thirteen of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
23-year-old Naomi Osaka is already counted amongst the greatest-of-all-time tennis players. Her trainer, Yukata Nakamura, recently drew the curtains on how she works behind the scenes.
The reigning US Open champion is one of the strongest competitors in the game today both physically and mentally. Nakamura, who has also trained Kei Nishikori and Maria Sharapova in the past, revealed that Osaka can train the hardest.
via Getty
Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates a point in her quarterfinal match against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands during day five of the 2020 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on January 10, 2020, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka and her training sessions
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Training is the mantra to succeed consistently and to overcome even the unforeseen challenges. And because the Japanese-born does it so well, she has been able to collect 3 Gram Slam trophies.
Yukata revealed, “Her daily schedule basically includes eating breakfast, warming up for an hour from 9 a.m., playing tennis for an hour and a half and training for two hours.”
He added that during the off-season, he loads her with so much that she cannot even move the next day. However, to not compromise on her performance, they limit the training in tournaments.
However, the training is not just to win her matches, but also to keep making her better and better. Therefore, winning in the Flushing Meadows came as a consequence of her hard work and training.
“In particular, Naomi is training to improve the precision of her footwork and cardiopulmonary function as well as strengthen her muscles including the motion around her shoulder blades.”
“She is training to improve her performance, rather than just maintaining it, so we are working to achieve a goal beyond what she attained in the U.S. Open,” said the trainer.
For the New York Grand Slam, Naomi trained for two months, June and July 2020. And by winning it, she recorded a major tournament title for the third consecutive year.
Osaka will start 2021 from the Australian Open
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
via Getty
Naomi Osaka of Japan with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup following victory in her Women’s Singles Final match against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during day 13 of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Due to the pandemic outbreak in 2020, Naomi had skipped the entire season after winning at US Open. She will want to change that in 2021 and compete at all the four major tournaments.
The 23-year-old is also looking forward to participating at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. For Osaka, success might have come early on, but her determination will see her through a long career.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Despite failing to defend her title in 2020, she will be one of the favourites at the Australian Open 2021. How many Slams will Osaka win this year?
Also Read: “Won a Slam Immediately”: Naomi Osaka Credits Her Customized Tennis Racquet Towards Her Success
