“I’m honestly really devastated to have lost, but extremely grateful and appreciative of the support, it was so fun to play in an atmosphere like this again. I can’t wait to see how far I can go and where life will take me. I think my second match was definitely the best I’ve played so far and I hope to be able to play many more matches like that in the future. Now I’m playing on clay and it’s different but fun. Let’s see what happens.”
In a recent post on her X account, the Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka expressed her disappointment at the elimination from the Miami Open (where she however showed a good tennis level), commenting on her path and analyzing the positive sides of the path on the Florida WTA 1000.
The 26-year-old, four-time Slam champion, wrote a message of thanks for the warmth shown to her by the US crowd.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 30, 2024
After maternity leave and a long absence from the WTA Tour, Osaka is slowly trying to recover an adequate state of form to be able to compete at high levels. A path that can only be slow and progressive. However, the Japanese tennis player has already given good signs in her first appearances of the season.
Naomi showed some good performances in her outings on hard courts, interspersed with dull tests. The latest positive indications arrived at the ATP Master 1000 in Miami, a tournament in which the former WTA No.1 had reached the final in 2022.
She emerged victorious in the matches against Elisabetta Cocciaretto and, above all, against the other mother of the Tour, Elina Svitolina, before suffering her second defeat of the season against the Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, in the third round.
Naomi has re-embraced tennis, expressing good performances
The Japanese, who started the season without ranking, has a record of 7 wins and 6 defeats this year. Her best result was the quarterfinal reached at the Qatar Open. Now comes the time to move to European clay, a surface not entirely congenial for the Japanese tennis player, but an opportunity to regain the form and confidence of the best times.
Before the Miami Open, Naomi had analyzed her current level of tennis, underlining how she was close to that of her best times.
“When I started back in Australia my main goal was to have fun. I kind of focused on winning matches, which I can’t do because I’m very competitive. I wouldn’t say I had to force myself to think about fun again, but I had to be aware of it.
Now it’s starting to become natural again. I’m not far from when I was at the top. On both Monday and Tuesday I watched videos of myself in those years and also all the games I played here last time, and I don’t feel like I’m too far from that level this season.
In the matches I watched I felt more comfortable because I didn’t have such a long break. I don’t think I had the panic I have now, but that will come in time. I feel so much better now, knowing that my shots weren’t that much better back then. I use my time a lot more.
Wim Fissette also told me that I’m much more professional now, which is good. Every time I see people winning tournaments I feel a strong need to be at their level. I know I have to take it one step at a time and I feel like the more games I win, the more comfortable I will be,” she told.
On the eve of Indian Wells, however, Naomi had expressed the desire to be able to become competitive again and win her 5th Slam title.
“I’m in the top 300 now, and I’m actually pretty excited about it. I’ve completely forgotten what it’s like to be a top seed by now, so I’m just getting busy. I’m not particularly interested in having an extra day off: it’s better to play all seven matches because I want to understand what it means to potentially win the Fifth Slam.
I have always said that I am a perfectionist and that even while I was pregnant I had dreams of what I wanted to achieve. Obviously, losing in the first round of the Australian Open wasn’t my plan, but I think I have to be realistic and kind to myself.
I don’t want to get too down on myself at this stage of my career. In these last few months I have learned the art of patience and also resilience, which many think are similar. I think playing tennis you have to deal with a lot of situations and you also have to be patient because things might not go your way. If you keep trying, it might eventually turn out the way you want but if it doesn’t, you have to try again another day. The most important thing is to encourage and support women’s sport.
I have been lucky enough to follow many truly extraordinary athletes. And I think people aren’t aware of how many amazing female athletes there are in the world. We need to put the spotlight on them,” she analyzed.
