Struggling Naomi Osaka admitted yesterday that she had gone through “more down than up” this year as she tries to break out of her slump at her home Pan Pacific Open this week.
The former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion has plummeted to 48 in the women’s tennis world rankings after a wretched run that has seen her crash out in the first round of her last three tournaments.
The Japanese 24-year-old has not won a title since last year’s Australian Open and has been hampered this season with injury.
But Osaka is hoping to right the ship at the WTA event in Tokyo where she is defending champion, albeit from three years ago as the tournament returns for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.
She will face stiff competition from a field that includes US Open semi-finalist Caroline Garcia of France, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Spain’s world number four Paula Badosa.
“This year has been not the best year for me but I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Osaka said, adding that she was “happy to be healthy”.
“Life is ups and downs, and this year was more down than up, but overall I’m pretty happy with where I am now.”
Osaka has been outside the top 10 all year and endured first-round defeats at both the French and US Opens.
Osaka withdrew from Wimbledon with an Achilles injury, after originally considering skipping the tournament because ranking points would not be awarded.
Osaka admitted that her fall from the sport’s summit had been difficult to handle.
“It was kind of hard at first, just because I feel like I should be somewhere where I’m obviously currently not,” she said.
“I think for me it’s more about being at peace with myself. I know that I’m here for a reason,” she said.
Osaka said she was looking forward to playing in front of Japanese fans again after taking part in last year’s Tokyo Olympics behind closed doors, but would have to “trust in my forehand more” to rebuild her confidence after her poor season.
She will begin her campaign against Australia’s world number 55 Daria Saville in the first round.
Osaka paid tribute to tennis legend Serena Williams, who retired after the US Open, and said she had “gotten over trying to fill people’s shoes”.
“I don’t think you can ever do that because everyone is unique, and we’re all forging our own paths and we’re all on our own journeys,” said Osaka.
“It’s really incredible all the stuff she’s done for this sport and beyond that. Just watching her as a businesswoman is really cool.”
Emotional Murray hopes to play in Davis Cup again
Britain’s Andy Murray said he felt “a bit emotional” over the idea he may have made his last appearance in the Davis Cup but the three-times Grand Slam champion added that he hopes to be selected again.
Murray defeated Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Popko 6-3 6-4 in Sunday’s dead rubber following Britain’s losses to the US and the Netherlands.
The 35-year-old led Britain to their first Davis Cup title for 79 years in the year 2015, but has struggled to regain top form since undergoing two hip surgeries and is currently ranked 43rd in the world.
Murray said he felt emotional in the final moments of Sunday’s match in front of his home crowd in Glasgow.
“I only thought about it at about 5-2 today, to be honest, in the second set,” Murray told reporters when asked whether he thought it could be his last Davis Cup match.
“I wasn’t thinking about it before the weekend or during any of the doubles matches or anything... I lost my focus a bit and felt a little bit emotional about that.”
The former world number one said getting the opportunity to play for Britain again would be difficult due to the competition for places in the team. “It’s obviously not going to be easy with the players that we have. Then obviously don’t know which way the captain will go with the doubles after the results here, as well,” Murray said. “Don’t know what the future holds. But if I’m selected, yeah, I’ll definitely be involved,” he said.
Naomi Osaka (Illustration by Reynold/Gulf Times)
