Pam Shriver slams Naomi Osaka and advises her to seek inspiration from Serena Williams in her quest to be back in form

Pam Shriver slams Naomi Osaka and advises her to seek inspiration from Serena Williams in her quest to be back in form

L- Naomi Osaka (IMAGO / ZUMA Wire) and R- Serena Williams (IMAGO / Hasenkopf)

Tennis icon Pam Shriver recently expressed her worry about Naomi Osaka’s poor form on the ‘Inside-in’ podcast and advised her to get inspired by 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams. Osaka has been terribly out of form after her infamous press conference incident at the 2021 French Open and ever since then, been searching for her long-lost form.

In the 2022 US Open, Osaka bowed out of the first round to Danielle Collins. Shriver agreed that she was very unlucky with the draw and during the match, she texted Naomi’s business partner and told him that she should play more matches. The former doubles World No.1 wants Naomi to get more match practice and also expects her to play a couple more tournaments before the season ends.

“Listen, it was a tough draw to play (Danielle) Collins first round. Naomi didn’t play badly and I was texting Stuart, her business partner like, ‘you gotta play more!’, and it’s like, ‘okay but she has to want to play more. I’d like to see her play a couple more tournaments before the end of the year. Naomi might learn a little bit,” Shriver said.

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Pam Shriver cites Serena Williams’ example to analyze Naomi Osaka’s situation

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams

Shriver further recalled Serena Williams’ 2007 Australian Open which Serena won against all the odds. She was unseeded, out of shape, and lacked match practice. But with each build-up match, she became better and won the Australian Open. Shriver expects Naomi to draw inspiration from the tennis legend as it will motivate her to play more.

“Reflecting back on some of Serena’s long journey, when I think back to how Serena was able to win the 07 Australian Open, outside the Top 70, unseeded, out of shape, hadn’t played any matches, and then worked her way into form. Really, the best way to do that is just to play matches. You get sparks of motivation by seeing glimpses of your best self and then that makes you want to go out and work harder,” she said.

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