‘Humbled’ Naomi Osaka won’t ‘hang around’ without wins

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka isn’t inclined to “hang around” in professional tennis if her results aren’t on par with her expectations.

Osaka, 27, is returning from a two-month absence due to a back injury, playing at the ASB Classic. The Japanese star will square off against Lina Glushko of Israel on Monday in Auckland, New Zealand.

Osaka admitted to being “humbled” by her play in 2024. The former world No. 1 returned to professional tennis after an almost 15-month break for the birth of her first child, daughter Shai.

“I don’t think I’m the type of player that would hang around,” said Osaka, who won 22 of 40 singles matches in 2024 to finish the season ranked 58th in the world.

“I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now, if I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.

“I’d rather spend time with my daughter if I’m not where I think I should be and where I feel like I can be.”

Osaka, who has been open about her struggles with mental health, won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.

“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, and a huge part of that I owe to my parents, but I never really saw my life doing anything else,” Osaka said Sunday. “Then, when I sat there and had the opportunity to do other things, I realized that I’d rather be playing tennis.

“So it was kind of one of those realization moments where you feel like you thought you were forced to do something, but in actuality you very much truly loved it.”

–Field Level Media