Naomi Osaka opens up on her dark spell of life as she admits to feeling nothing despite winning the Grand Slams in Australia and USA

Osaka had previously said that she will eye for a comeback in the 2024 Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka opens up on her dark spell of life as she admits to feeling nothing despite winning the Grand Slams in Australia and USA

Naomi Osaka (Credits:Eurosport)

Former World No.1 Naomi Osaka once again opens up on her mentality off the court. She has recently opened up on the phases of depression she had to go through, even after winning Grand Slam events and major titles. Osaka, who is on a pregnancy break, is expected to be back next year on the tour. As for her, the depression days were hard, and she didn’t want to continue playing.

Talking on the ‘Mountaintop Conversations By Saysh‘ podcast, Osaka said, “The first time I felt really depressed was after I won Indian Wells. It happened again when I won 2020 USO, & Beijing. I was in China, crying on court. After I won AO the 2nd time, I felt I had to do something bc I don’t want to keep living this way.”

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Osaka had previously said that she will eye for a comeback in the 2024 Australian Open. She also hoped to win at least 8 more Grand Slam titles as well as an Olympic gold in the already prestigious career.

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Naomi Osaka is a 4-time Grand Slam champion

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka (Credits: Tennis USA)

The 25-year-old Japanese star has won four Grand Slam titles already. Out of them, 2 were in Australia and 2 were in the USA. Her last triumph in a Grand Slam tournament was in the Australian Open 2021. The hard court being her strongest surface, she has never lost a Grand Slam final yet. But her best-ever performance in the French Open and Wimbledon are round three appearances.

After becoming the first player since Roger Federer and Monica Seles to win the first four Major finals, Osaka’s career took a U-turn. Mental health issues started popping up for the Japanese in the same year. Performance, pressure, and expectation took a toll on Osaka and she couldn’t keep up with the pressure. She took a break from the sport, citing mental health issues later.

Osaka will try to get back into tour next year and also would be eying for an Olympic triumph in Paris even though the clay is not her favorite surface. It will be interesting to see how she can cope with Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina, who are the top three players now.

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