Four-time Grand Slam Champion and tennis sensation Naomi Osaka just returned to playing professional tennis this year. The Japanese tennis player seemed to drop off the face of the earth a few years ago. She stole the headlines for a while between 2018 and 2021 and then just disappeared.
What was she up to? What has she been doing all this while?
The truth is; she was dealing with a lot of stuff. Osaka has lived with depression since 2018. After refusing to take part in a compulsory press conference during the French Open in May 2021, she was fined $15,000 and threatened with expulsion from the tournament; this one made the news.
She ultimately withdrew from the competition to deal with her mental health and well-being. Less than a month later she also pulled out of Wimbledon citing “she is taking some personal time with friends and family”.
Osaka played in the Tokyo Olympics but lost in the third round. Osaka attempted to make a comeback again in the Cincinnati Open but was upset in the third round by Jil Teichmann after beating Coco Gauff in the second round.
After losing at the US Open in 2021 during which she threw her racket and received a code violation for firing a ball into the stands, Osaka announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport; another hiatus.
In 2022, she returned to competition at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 but had to withdraw due to injury. The year was filled with a fair amount of withdrawals due to injury and losses for Osaka. By this time her WTA rankings had tanked; she was No. 85. She took a break from competitive tennis in September 2022 after withdrawing from the Torah Pan Pacific Open in Japan due to an abdominal illness.
On January 11, 2023, just before the Australian Open, Osaka took to X formerly Twitter to announce her withdrawal from the championships as she was expecting her first child with American rapper Cordae. She said she would be at the next Australian Open in 2024. Osaka had her baby in July 2023 and remained on hiatus until January 2024.
In summary, the reason why Osaka stepped away from professional tennis was to take care of her mental health and become a mom.
And now, after 18 months and a baby, Osaka has returned to competitive tennis in January 2024 at the Brisbane International and it’s been quite a show ever since. Between losses and wins so far, the most important thing is that she is back and ready to compete.