Nine days after turning 29, Naomi Osaka says she feels like she is almost there, to recapturing the form that made her a four-time Grand Slam champion.
But equally, Osaka wonders how many more birthdays she will celebrate as a professional tennis player.
“I mean obviously for me as I’m growing older I feel like my mindset’s changing a lot,” the former world No. 1 said on Sunday (25 October) in Tokyo, ahead of the Pan Pacific Open which she will compete in for the first time in four years.
“I think my daughter is my biggest priority and I try my best to put as much energy as I can into tennis. So like if I think about it in certain ways, I’m really proud of where I am now because it’s not like I can dedicate my entire time to this sport.
“And I feel like some people would die to be in the top 20 and I’m kind of just like, I wouldn’t say part timing it, but like my entire day doesn’t consist of that.
“I mean it’s tough. Like sometimes I look towards my future and I often wonder how long am I going to play like because if my daughter did say she didn’t want me to travel as much, I’m not the type of person to ignore that.
“So yeah, that’s why I try to make the most of my time as I can.”
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/tennis-2026-pan-pacific-open-japan-naomi-osaka
