Naomi Osaka to pause tennis career if results don't meet her expectations

The four time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she might pause her tennis career for a while if the results fail to match the expectations. The 27-year-old player recently have made a comeback from her back injury after almost a year in the China Open at ASB in Auckland in October. During the interview, Osaka said that she was greatly humbled by her form in the 2024 season where she resumed playing after a gap of 15 months due to the birth of her first child.  

While an interaction with the media, Osaka cleared her stance on Tennis, saying, “I don’t think I’m the type of player that would hang around. I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now, if I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.” 

She further added that she would be more comfortable in sharing some quality time with her daughter if she feels she doesn’t belong to the place where she is right now. “I’d rather spend time with my daughter if I’m not where I think I should be and where I feel like I can be,” she said.  

It was very painful to not get the results I wanted: Osaka

Osaka also reflects upon the year 2024 where she says that it was quite a humbling and overwhelming experience. Comparing to her previous trainings and experiences, Osaka says that during this year she had pushed herself a lot more than what she used to do previously. So, it was a lot more painful for her when things did not turn up the way she expected it to be. “It was very painful to not get the results I wanted, but I feel like I’m growing and learning and I am really excited for this year (2025),” Osaka added. 

Osaka further added, “I played really good matches. People still talk to me about my Iga (Swiatek) match at the French Open (lost 7-6 1-6 7-5). So, I’m glad that I was able to give people memories as well. Even though I got injured in Beijing, which was my last tournament, I feel pretty optimistic about how that match would have turned out (against Coco Gauff) and I am excited to play on hardcourt again.” 

In the year 2019 and 2021, Osaka had won the Australia Open along with many other titles to her name. Even after continued injury setbacks, Osaka still have a lot of love left for the game.