“It forced me to see life in a different way,” Naomi Osaka once said about her motherhood journey. Last July, the 26-year-old player gave birth to her first child, Shai. Since then, the former World No. 1 player’s life has taken a massive turn, changing her outlook on her personal and professional life. After taking 15-month break from tennis, she came back to action in January 2024, perhaps as a changed individual. In a recent heart-to-heart conversation, she revealed a profound perspective that transcends the tennis court, resonating deeply with women everywhere.

When Osaka was navigating the winding path of triumphs and failures in her tennis journey, life threw her a curveball—a pregnancy that arrived just after her mental health struggles. At the time, she was also trying hard to keep up with her form on-court, facing losses in many matches. She might have taken that time of pregnancy to introspect, as when she came back, her demeanor had a tinge of an extra layer of confidence, as she tried to be more at ease with herself. It reflected in her National Bank Open’s 7th August Press Conference as well!

A reporter asked her to talk about the time when – “A few months ago you tweeted something about being a mom, and how, something about how your body looks, it doesn’t matter, like, it was really succinct and it blew up…”  

On January 2nd, Osaka posted on X, “Dear moms, Everybody and every body is different. Don’t compare yourself to anyone, you’re beautiful and you’re loved ❤️.” Although not made entirely clear, perhaps the reporter referred to one such X post of Osaka regarding motherhood. After humorously adding how she “runs away,” after posting something to avoid social media negativity, the four-time Grand Slam Champion said,

“I think there’s so much stress on moms to, like, bounce back or, like, get back to something. I feel like it’s a beautiful, magical thing that you’ve created a life inside of you, and you almost don’t even really get to treasure that moment.”  

Further requesting everyone to “normalize” the whole journey of giving birth, the Japanese tennis pro added, “I think for me, I don’t know, I feel like giving birth is, it’s normalized, and almost every, like, mom that I know has had a really difficult pregnancy and labor, so I wish that women could see how strong they are, but also not feel, like, too many expectations at the same time to, I guess, look a certain way or be a certain way.”

Osaka frequently shared her thoughts on Instagram and Twitter, with the aim of normalizing the change in the body that every woman goes through during pregnancy. Osaka’s postpartum journey was also not smooth. She once admitted how she found it hard to even get up from the bed and had to roll sideways. Calling it a “long process,” Osaka revealed how she had to do a lot of sit-ups and change her training regime to get back to her original form.

But she is aware that most mothers do not get to spend a lot of time away from work after giving birth and she revealed her honest reaction to that.

Osaka’s shocking reaction after hearing about the unpaid parental policy!

According to the statistics from Glamour, nearly one in four women tends to return to work almost 2 weeks after giving birth. This is because of the lack of paid parental leave policy in the country. Hearing this surprising revelation, Osaka once said, “When I heard the stats, I was really shocked.” 

Moreover, the former U.S. Open champion added, “I’m lucky enough to not have to go straight into work, but I really needed that time to process everything that’s happened and, of course, get to know my baby. And to see that there are so many women that don’t have that choice and they have to immediately go straight to work is really sad.”

After a difficult year, Osaka is back on track now, participating in back-to-back tournaments and even at the Olympics! She is currently making waves in the Canadian Open and is gearing up to take on her round of 32 opponent, Elise Mertens. As she does that, let’s remember that by recognizing and celebrating women’s strength, we can work towards a more inclusive and supportive environment for new mothers.