Naomi Osaka Drops Big Retirement Hint After Miami Heartbreak: “I’d Rather Be Great Mom Than Stay on Tour”
Naomi Osaka has yet to win a title since winning her fourth Grand Slam trophy at the 2021 Australian Open.
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Naomi Osaka (Image via X/Tiempo De Tenis)
- Naomi Osaka hinted at retirement after her early exit from the Miami Open, expressing a desire to focus on motherhood.
- She has struggled to regain her form since returning to the tour after maternity leave, suffering multiple early-round losses this year.
- Osaka emphasized that she would prefer to be a great mom rather than continue competing if she cannot achieve success on the tour.
Naomi Osaka‘s Miami Open campaign ended in a disastrous fashion. She suffered an opening-round exit with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Talia Gibson.
It was the third time she lost in the early round of a tournament this year. After giving the walkover to Maddison Inglis in the third round of the Australian Open, Osaka skipped the two WTA 1000 events in the Middle East. Later in Indian Wells, eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka knocked her out in the fourth round.
At the press conference after her Miami exit, Osaka dropped retirement hints, saying her sacrifices would be useless if she continues to suffer opening-round exits, that instead of competing, she would rather focus on motherhood.
I feel like this also is a dilemma for me. Obviously, I would love to play, but like I said last year, for me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mum. I want to be the best mum I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult… I’m not going to play Charleston. I hope I can play Madrid, Rome, and then obviously the French Open.
Naomi Osaka said at the press conference
Osaka’s daughter Shai was born in July 2023. The Japanese ace took maternity leave and returned to the tour at the 2024 Brisbane International. Since then, the four-time Grand Slam champion struggled to rediscover her form.
For me, like I said last year, 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. Because for me, I want to win titles and I want to be the best player I can, but if I have to sacrifice having a lot of time with my daughter, I’d rather not do it.
Naomi Osaka added
Osaka, however, featured in two finals last year. After giving the walkover to Clara Tauson at the ASB Classic, the 28-year-old lost to home favorite Victoria Mboko at the Canadian Open. The last time she won a tour-level title was at the 2021 Australian Open by defeating Jennifer Brady.
Naomi Osaka explains how it felt playing Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells
Osaka and Sabalenka have been a part of the tour for a long time. But despite that, they have so far met just two times. In their first meeting, the former World No.1 beat her in the fourth round of the 2018 US Open. Following her defeat to the Belarusian in the fourth round of this Indian Wells, Osaka shared how it felt facing Sabalenka again.
No, it definitely felt like playing her for the first time. I think, like, obviously, I could watch her on TV or whatever, but in reality, it’s very different. I also feel like I was a little, like, flat-footed sometimes, because I expected the ball to be coming harder, but then it didn’t. She grunts the same way for every ball. I was, like, Oh, my God, she tricked me (smiling). No, it was a cool learning experience.
Sabalenka is bidding to complete the Sunshine Doubles, and her win in Miami will make her only the fifth woman to achieve the feat. She defeated home favorites Ann Li and Caty McNally to schedule her fourth-round match against Qinwen Zheng.
In the Indian Wells final, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion took her revenge on Elena Rybakina, registering her first win after two consecutive defeats at the 2025 WTA Finals and this year’s Australian Open final.
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