"I don't have to constantly revisit the past" - Naomi Osaka on evolving her game to avoid 'pressure' of not playing the same since becoming a mom

Naomi Osaka recently talked about evolving her game to not put "pressure" on herself about not performing at the same level since becoming a mother. Osaka and her boyfriend, Cordae, welcomed their first child, a daughter whom they named Shai, in July 2023.

Osaka returned to Wimbledon for the first time since 2019, where she suffered a defeat in the first round to Yulia Putintseva. She began her grasscourt Major campaign by facing Diane Parry in the first round.

The former World No.1 defeated the World No.53 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in one hour and 32 minutes to secure her spot in the second round. This win was the former World No.1's first victory at SW19 since 2018 when she defeated Katie Boulter in the second round.

During a press conference following her win, Naomi Osaka, who had taken a break from tennis due to her pregnancy in 2023, shared her thoughts on her return to the court in January 2024 after giving birth to her daughter, Shai.

Osaka admitted that she initially expected to resume her 'training' and 'playing' routine as before, but found herself needing to adapt to changes in her body and game. She stated that she now revisits her past form and tries to evolve her game according to what now fits her and her body.

“It’s funny because when I was first coming back from pregnancy, I thought I was going to train exactly the same way and play the same. But I think that’s the cool thing about life, that I don’t have to constantly revisit the past. That puts a lot of pressure on me. The way I want to play now is an evolution of how I played before,” Osaka said (via Punto de Break).

Naomi Osaka also stated that since making her comeback this year, certain aspects of her game have improved and that she only needs to get some better results moving forward to back that claim up.

“I know I need the results to back it up, but I think certain aspects of my game are better. I just need to put the pieces together. As an athlete in general, I think I could be a little bit better now because I used to get injured and parts of my body would hurt. I don’t have any pain anymore because of the way I train,” she added.

Naomi Osaka will face Emma Navarro in Wimbledon 2R

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka will go up against 19th seed Emma Navarro in the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

To prepare for the Grasscourt Major, Osaka competed in the 2024 Libema Open and the Ecotrans Ladies Open. In s-Hertogenbosch, the four-time Grand Slam champion secured victories over Elise Mertens and Suzan Lamens to advance to the quarterfinals. However her run came to an end in the last eight when she was defeated by the eventual runner-up, Bianca Andreescu.

Osaka's campaign at the WTA 500 grass court tournament in Berlin was short-lived as she was defeated in the first round by Qinwen Zheng.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Naomi Osaka claimed a victory over Diane Parry in the opening round to advance to the second.

Meanwhile, Emma Navarro arrived at Wimbledon following her appearances at the 2024 Ecotrans Ladies Open and the Bad Homburg Open. In Berlin, Navarro was eliminated in the first round after a loss to Katrina Siniakova.

However, at the WTA 500 grass court tournament in Homburg, the American made it to the semifinals, defeating players like Jaqueline Cristian, Peyton Stearns, and Caroline Wozniacki before falling to eventual champion Diana Shnaider in the final four.

Navarro kicked off her Wimbledon campaign with an impressive 6-0, 6-2 victory over Qiang Wang in the first round to set up a second-round showdown with Osaka

Naomi Osaka and Emma Navarro have never faced each other on the WTA Tour, therefore their current head-to-head record stands at 0-0.