Naomi Osaka stands as a beacon of inspiration, embodying the journey of conquering the pinnacle of success, embracing motherhood, and staging a remarkable comeback. It’s interesting to note that Bianca Andreescu, her most recent opponent, has had a similarly turbulent career path. The 23-year-old tennis sensation recently discussed the similarities and contrasts between her career and Iga Swiatek’s, illuminating the various routes athletes take to achieve their goals.

As Andreescu is ready to go against Osaka, the Japanese will try to keep her grass comeback trail continuing. The former world number one has advanced to her second quarterfinal of the season and her first on grass courts since 2018. She is ready to put her best foot forward, but her opponent recently discussed being a similar role model to Osaka.

She said, “We’ve had, in a way, similar careers. It’s not the same, but we won at a very young age and then had a break here and a break there. Being back on court with her, I think it’s great for tennis. And also being role models because we didn’t have a linear career like, say, Iga [Swiatek].” 

While she knows Osaka’s career’s ups and downs, on the other hand, she emphasized how the current world number one has a straight career graph tagging her differently when it comes to role models. Further, she added, “Hopefully that motivates and inspires other people too. We can show that we’re also happy when we’re not winning, because tennis is just tennis, but then there’s this whole other life that we can discover. I feel like we’re both at that level and it’s nice to see.” 

In their only previous meeting, Osaka defeated Andreescu in the quarterfinals of the 2019 China Open. In the same conversation, she also talked about her opponent. The Canadian player said, “I remember and I know this for a fact: that she’s a great player. It feels really cool that we’re playing again this year. I know we’re both trying to come back and we’re almost kind of back, so this is really fun.” 

But only a few days prior, the four-time Grand Slam victor and the Polish player engaged in a thrilling tennis encounter at the French Open that captivated the spectators. Osaka took delight in her performance and the near upset of the world champion despite losing.

Naomi Osaka proud of herself for standing against Swiatek 

She praised Swiatek for her extraordinary abilities and tenacity, expressing pride in the closely fought battle. Osaka stated, “Honestly, it’s not the worst. Like, I felt worse, for sure. I cried when I got off the court, but then I kind of realise I was watching Iga win this tournament last year, and I was pregnant.” 

She added, “It was just my dream to be able to play her. I feel like I played her on her better surface. I’m a hard-court kid, so I would love to play her on my surface and see what happens.” Even though Swiatek has won four Grand Slam events, three of her major victories have occurred on the same clay courts where Osaka and Iga faced off. On the other hand, Osaka has won every Slam match on hard courts.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts about Osaka being a different role model than Swiatek? Do let us know in the comment section below.