"Couldn’t imagine myself playing past 32, but now I realize how lucky I am to have played Serena Williams"- Naomi Osaka on importance of 'role models'

Naomi Osaka admitted in a recent interview that she considered a quick retirement from tennis at one stage, believing that she would never play the sport after reaching her 30s. She also said that now that she is in her second innings as a WTA player following a maternity break, she has understood just how important it is for the next generation to have role models in the game.

Osaka, after missing the 2023 season entirely, returned to action at the start of the new season in Australia. After facing an early exit at the Australian Open, she is now in Abu Dhabi for the WTA 500 event and is set to take on Danielle Collins in her opener.

Speaking to the National News before the tournament, the four-time Grand Slam champion revealed that she has a new perspective on her career now, especially when it comes to retirement.

Having played against Serena Williams, whom Osaka considers a role model, the former World No. 1 talked about how lucky she was to have that experience. She pointed out that that would not have been possible had Williams retired in her mid-30s - a fact that has given Naomi Osaka something to think about concerning her own time in tennis.

For those unaware, Serena Williams was active on the WTA Tour until the age of 40, finally calling it quits at the 2022 US Open.

Osaka also brought up another legend, Chinese icon Li Na - another of her role models. Osaka did not have the opportunity to share the court with her, as the two-time Grand Slam champion retired in 2014.

Having experienced first-hand how much the presence of someone like that can motivate up-and-coming players on the tour, Osaka admitted that she hopes to do the same one day herself.

“You know what’s weird? Maybe a couple of years ago, I really couldn’t imagine myself playing past like 32. But I think now, coming back, I realize how important role models are in tennis and how lucky I am to have played Serena [Williams]," Osaka said.

“I wish I could have played Li Na, because she’s my other role model that I loved growing up. But just to have those figureheads still in the game when you’re coming up is really cool. I feel like that’s something I would want to, I guess, be on the other end of, towards the tail-end of my career,” she added.

"Serena Williams' legacy is really wide to the point where you can't even describe it in words" - Naomi Osaka

2023 CFDA Fashion Awards - Arrivals

At the time of Serena Williams' retirement in 2022, Naomi Osaka took the opportunity to lavish praise on the American and her legacy of introducing new people to the sport.

Referring to herself as the product of what Serena Williams and her sister Venus, had done for the game, Osaka expressed her belief that the 23-time Grand Slam champion was the "biggest force" in tennis and that her legacy was too big to put into words.

"I think that her legacy is really wide to the point where you can't even describe it in words. Like, she changed the sport so much. She's introduced people that have never heard of tennis into the sport. I think I'm a product of what she's done," Naomi Osaka said.

"I wouldn't be here without Serena, Venus, her whole family. I'm, like, very thankful to her. I also was trying to figure out how to sum it into words. I honestly think that she's, like, the biggest force in the sport," she added.

On the court, Williams and Osaka met on four occasions, with Osaka having a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head record. One of the Japanese's most memorable wins came in the final of the 2018 US Open, where she won in straight sets to lift her maiden Grand Slam trophy.