Naomi Osaka Likens Struggles on Tennis Court with 'Being Postpartum' After Cincinnati Loss

One day after faltering in the qualifying round of the Cincinnati Open, Naomi Osaka is mulling her next steps — and candidly sharing that she has internally questioned her game.

“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” Osaka, 26, wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram on Tuesday, Aug. 13. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try to tell myself, ‘It’s fine you’re doing great. Just get through this one and keep pushing,’ mentally it's really draining through. Internally, I hear myself screaming 'what the hell is happening?!?!' ”

The mother of 13-month-old daughter Shai says she likens how she feels at the moment to “being postpartum.”

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“That scares because I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, the tennis racquet should feel like an extension of my hand,” Osaka continued. “I don’t understand why everything has to feel almost brand new again. This should be as simple as breathing to me but it’s not and I genuinely did not give myself grace for that fact until just now.”

Yet as she continues her comeback following the July 2023 birth of her daughter — which started with a first-round finish at the Australian Open before two second-round finishes at the French Open and Wimbledon as well as getting knocked out early at the Paris Summer Olympics — the four-time Grand Slam champion is putting it all in perspective.

“During this time, I’ve wondered what do I want out of this whole experience and I realized something,” Osaka wrote. “I love the process (though the process doesn’t love me sometimes haha), putting in work everyday and eventually having the opportunity to get to where you want to be. I know life isn’t guaranteed so I want to do the best that I can with the time that I have, I want to teach my daughter that she can achieve so many things with hard work and perseverance. I want her to aim for the stars and never think her dreams are too big.”

For the two-time US Open champion, her own current goal is to regroup and to play at Flushing Meadows in Queens, N.Y. later this month.

“Nothing in life is promised but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and give it my best shot till the very end,” the tennis star shared.

Osaka then added: “See you in New York ❤️”