"Why would I keep pushing through it when I can confront it and fix it" - Naomi Osaka opens up on her battle with mental health issues

Naomi Osaka opened up about her fight against mental health problems, stating that she feels it is admissible for people to be weak and have mental struggles.

The former World No. 1 has long been battling anxiety and depression. She has had to withdraw from several tournaments owing to the same. Meanwhile, she has been receiving a lot of support from the public and players within the sport for stepping up and raising her voice on the matter.

In a recent appearance on The Late Show, Naomi Osaka spoke about her journey so far and about how one can cautiously deal with mental health issues rather than panicking. The 25-year-old stated that she was taught to "work through the problems," which she initially deemed to be a valuable lesson but later realized that it should be "confronted and fixed" before continuing the journey.

"I think for me, I've just always been taught to kind of like stick it out or like work through it and I think that's a very valuable lesson because it has gotten me through a lot of things in life. But there was just a point where I thought to myself like 'why?', you know! And not in a negative way," she conveyed.

"If I am feeling this way, why would I keep pushing through it, when I can kind of confront it and fix it and then continue on my journey," she added.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has made it clear that she does not want to rush things in her eagerness to return to action soon. Osaka suffered an abdominal illness in September as well, which hindered her participation in several events.

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"There were so many athletes who came up to me and I was so honored" - Naomi Osaka on feeling supported by athletes at Tokyo Olympics

Naomi Osaka at the 2022 US Open

Naomi Osaka felt overwhelmed by the support she received from athletes who participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

The Japanese player was in attendance at the Olympics that took place in her home nation two years ago. The 25-year-old was showered with encouraging words which made her feel both grateful and supported.

"Actually, I was kind of cuddled up in my house for a while after that whole thing happened. But then, I went to the Olympics and there were so many athletes that came up to me and I was so surprised and I was so honoured because these are people that I watch on TV and I like, I felt really grateful and felt really supported," she stated during her conversation in The Late Show.

Osaka was last seen in action at the Toray Pan Pacific Open where she retired from her second-round match in front of her home crowd owing to an abdominal illness.

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