“My biggest issue is,” Naomi Osaka does a postpartum of her Cincinnati Open defeat

Japanese star Naomi Osaka is in hot water going into this year's US Open, where she is the two-time former champion.

“My biggest issue is,” Naomi Osaka does a postpartum of her Cincinnati Open defeat

Naomi Osaka (Via Imago)

After facing challenges in the qualifying round of the Cincinnati Open, Naomi Osaka has reflected on her future career. The former World No.1 has shared a post on Instagram, where she openly raised doubts about her game.

Osaka, who is a mother to 13-month-old daughter Shai, lost in the Cincinnati Open qualifier to American Ashlyn Krueger in three sets. The Japanese ace feels like she is “postpartum” at this point in her career.

My biggest issue currently isn't losses though, my biggest issue is that I don't feel like I'm in my body. It's a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn't miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to.
Naomi Osaka wrote

The two-time US Open champion’s current goal is to regroup and prepare to compete at Flushing Meadows in New York later this month.

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I know this moment is probably just a small phase from all the new transitions (clay, grass, clay, hard etc), however the only feeling I could liken how I feel right now to is being postpartum.--That scares me because I've been playing tennis since I was three, the tennis racquet should feel like an extension of my hand.
Naomi Osaka further wrote

Her first Grand Slam title came in 2018 against Serena Williams in the final. The Japanese star won a highly controversial final, in which Williams got a game penalty. Her second major title came in 2020 against Victoria Azarenka.

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Naomi Osaka’s Cincinnati campaign a tough pill to swallow before US Open

Naomi Osaka arrived in Cincinnati after a tough loss to Elise Mertens at the National Bank Open in Toronto. This was her second defeat by the Belgian since returning from maternity leave earlier in 2024. Despite the setback, the four-time Grand Slam winner was already focused on her next match.

Naomi-Osaka-hard-court
Naomi Osaka (Image via Imago)

However, Osaka faced a challenge as she wasn’t in the main draw. Her ranking of No. 95 was too low to automatically qualify for 1000-level tournaments.

Over the weekend, it was confirmed that Osaka would have to go through the qualifying rounds, marking her first time doing so since February 2018. She played on a full Grandstand court and won a hard-fought match against Anna Blinkova, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. This victory brought her close to the main draw, but she fell short on Monday (August 12), losing to Ashlyn Krueger, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Osaka had a 3-1 lead in the final set against Krueger but couldn’t hold on and lost the last five games. She’s faced similar struggles before, like in 2018 when she came to New York after disappointing results in Canada and Cincinnati, only to win her first Grand Slam title a month later.

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