Naomi Osaka hopes travelling more with her daughter Shai can help her find the work-life balance she has been seeking. The Japanese star cast doubt on her future in the sport after losing to Talia Gibson in her opening match at the Miami Open, saying: “I’m not going to stay on tour if I’m losing in the first round. I’d rather just be a great mom and be there for my daughter.”
Osaka subsequently took a month off and has returned to the tour at the Madrid Open with two-year-old Shai in tow and a more positive perspective. “I was able to go home, pretty much be a mom,” said the former world number one. “So I would take her to school, pick her up from school, and it was really cool. She’s here with me so just getting to see her face and going to practises and coming back, it’s been really special to me.”
She added: “I think her growing older and just being able to figure out her schedule, with school, it’s been really helpful, and I also just really love travelling with her, showing her the world and just exploring. She loves travel. She loves the airport, she loves aeroplanes.”
Osaka struggled for consistent results after coming back to the tour at the start of 2024 but appeared to have positioned herself as a potential grand slam champion again when she reached the US Open semi-finals last summer. However, she has not been able to kick on from there, with recurrent abdominal problems causing frustrating hiatuses.
Osaka is confident she has the right approach on clay, though, saying after beating Camila Osorio 6-2 7-5 in her opening match in Madrid: “I think, for me, on clay, I have one goal, which is to go out on my own terms. I did OK in Australia, was doing OK in Indian Wells. I played (Aryna) Sabalenka. I think from there I learned a lesson of just trying to be more aggressive, and I’m trying to implement it here.”
Osaka has made more headlines for her outfits than her tennis this season, with Australia’s extravagant jellyfish-inspired look followed by a leopard-print dress at Indian Wells. In the Spanish capital, she paired an orange dress with a patterned headscarf, describing it as a “nod to European summers”. “I know it’s weird to say it was a little simple for me given all the extraness that I’ve been doing recently, but I think it’s a really elegant look, and I’m excited because there’s different themes and stuff to do in Rome, so I’ll just keep trying to switch it up a little,” added Osaka.
