Former world number 1 Naomi Osaka made waves in the world of tennis back in 2018 when she defeated the GOAT Serena Williams. The four-time Grand Slam champion was one of the most sensational successes and captured many hearts during her prime time. However, after her loss in the US Open 2021, she decided that she needed to take a step back.
Since then, her fans have been missing her formidable and dominating play, witty charm, and awkward comebacks during press conferences and interviews. After her much-needed break, the Japanese sensation teases her fans about her comeback.
Naomi Osaka’s hints comeback
Since her 2021 season, Naomi Osaka has not been as consistent with her performance on the tennis court. After dealing with several ups and downs in her career throughout the 2022 season, she announced her withdrawal from the Australian Open at the beginning of 2023. That is when the Japanese player announced that she is pregnant.
After giving birth to her daughter, she announced that she is going to be back soon with a very prompt response:
Omw 😖🏃🏽♀️💨🎾💕 https://t.co/tAV7tvV6O6
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 1, 2023
Her fans evidently miss their relatable, witty, funny, anime-loving, fashion icon star. As she shared the news of her comeback, the world of tennis looks forward to her return in the 2024 season.
Why did Naomi Osaka take a break from tennis?
In 2021, she announced that she would not be competing in the Roland Garros because she was dealing with some mental distress. She wrote, “The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
Support for this from legendary athletes and sportspersons from across the globe came flooding. While prioritizing mental health is not considered important within the world of sports, Naomi Osaka’s courage and bravery to speak her truth was admired by every other athlete.
Following this, she took a brief hiatus and tried to step back in 2022. The Japanese star was definitely not as consistent as she had been and yet she was able to make her way to the finals of the Miami Open. After her loss against the current world number 1, Iga Swiatek, Osaka gave a classy speech that left fans to fall more in love with her.
She expressed, “I know I haven’t been in this position for a little minute. I know this isn’t the outcome that you guys wanted but I am having a lot of fun out here so I hope that I can keep working hard and get more opportunities to be in a situation like this again”.
She went on to heavily appreciate her opponents and expressed deep gratitude to her fans and everyone who supported her journey.
WE’RE NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING 😭😭 @naomiosaka @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/EnuitgBNeb
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) April 2, 2022
After her withdrawal from the Australian Open 2023, there were a lot of speculations about her absence and rumors about her complete retirement from the world of tennis. However, Osaka’s ‘little life update‘ at the beginning of the year silenced all of these. With images of her ultrasound, she wrote: “2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys at the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024”.
Now, after giving birth to her baby girl she wrote: “Well that was a cool little intermission, now back to your regularly scheduled program.” Her message sent hope to all her fans.
Well that was a cool little intermission, now back to your regularly scheduled program 🎾✌🏾💕 pic.twitter.com/M6jZXqbRMm
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) July 13, 2023
The Japanese sensation has had an awe-inspiring journey within the last decade in the professional tennis realm. While her comeback is most anticipated, what do you think are the chances of the former world number 1 to rise back to the top level? Let us know your guesses and predictions in the comments below!
