It’s a well-known fact that aging is more fun the younger you are, so it’s important to remember that Naomi Osaka is only 24 years old when making this statement. “I had more niggles this year than ever before in my career; maybe I’m getting old,” she said before the start of the US Open, which she has already won twice (2018, 2020): “It’s frustrating and interesting at the same time, because now I actually sometimes think: Wow, I would like to be able to play like I did then, but I don’t know if I will ever be able to reach that level again.”
Pro athlete years are dog years, for body and mind; Ōsaka has expected a lot from both of them in their career, which has now lasted ten years. The drudgery is documented in films and articles, and she has been open about the mental strain for years. About her current situation, she says: “I would be lying if I said I was relaxed. I was excited, unsure and scared in training because I want to do well here – but recently I haven’t been successful.”
Osaka is currently in the spiral that tennis pros can fall into through poor form, injuries and mental health pauses. Failure erodes self-confidence, and just as the hapless striker in soccer needs a goal to start scoring many goals again, a tennis player needs wins to start winning more often. Sounds strange; However, anyone who has ever been in this situation knows: that’s the way it is.
In New York, Osaka meets Danielle Collins, the Australian Open finalist
However, it is also the case that in tennis you slip further and further down the world rankings when you lose (Osaka is ranked 44th) and then you realize that in addition to death and taxes, the draw at tennis tournaments is inevitable. And as an unseeded player you can already meet top opponents in the first round and possibly quickly fail again. So the spiral continues.
Naomi Osaka after her first US Open triumph in 2018.
(Photo: Julian Finney/AFP)
At the Australian Open (which Osaka won in 2019 and 2021) and the French Open this year, she lost to Amanda Anisimova (USA), whose stoic baseline game she does not like at all; in San José she recently met Coco Gauff (USA) in the second round and lost. She then split from coach Wim Fissette, saying: “I felt like I had to change something. It was the classic ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ thing about breakups.”
She is currently being looked after by father Leonard Francois. The results since then: two first-round losses, against Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) and Shuai Zhang (China), in the tournaments in North America before the US Open. “I was looking forward to it. He has known me the longest, he has experienced the complete development. He exudes good energy and gives me self-confidence, which is what I need right now – and nobody who calculates percentages or tells me exactly what to do have”, says Osaka: “Unfortunately it didn’t go so well for me – but that’s the way it is in life.”
Nobody knows her better: Naomi Osaka (right) has recently been coached by her father Leonard Francois again.
(Photo: SportsPressJP/Imago)
Her opponent now in the first round: Danielle Collins (USA), Australian Open finalist and ranked 19th in New York. That’s how it is in life.
“I don’t want to look backwards, but I also don’t want to look too far ahead,” says Osaka
It’s amazing how openly Osaka speaks about her situation and how calmly she deals with it on the outside – as if she was one of the few in the world to have this saying above the entrance to Wimbledon’s Center Court (“When you come into contact with triumphs and disasters – and encounter the two dazzlers alike”) internalized. This leads to an interesting perspective, which she is now revealing in New York.
“I don’t want to look backwards, but I also don’t want to look too far ahead. I want to be in the here and now and enjoy the moment,” she says: “My attitude is this: I always wanted to take part in the US Open as a child. Now I’m here and I’ve always had good experiences here, so I want to have fun here and enjoy every minute I get at this tournament.”
That means: She would then like to stay in New York a little longer than just until Tuesday, and Osaka therefore has her own perspective for the draw: “It’s a difficult match, but I’m relieved. I would also have played against someone that I don’t have any information about – that’s pretty hard too. Now it’s straight up against one that I feel like I know pretty well.” She knows that she has won both games against Collins, most recently in spring in Miami 6-2, 6-1. It’s easier to win when you know you’ve done it before.