Naomi Osaka has revealed plans to make a busy comeback to the tour in 2024 after becoming a mother earlier in the year.
The former Grand Slam champion was speaking in an interview with ESPN at the US Open where she revealed her plans for next year.
Next year will mark Osaka’s return to the tennis court for the first time since late Japan since last year when she took a break to embrace motherhood where she gave birth to baby daughter, Shai.
Now Osaka is refreshed and ready to return to the tour as the Japanese star prepares for a busier schedule than fans are used to seeing in the past, “It’s definitely way more tournaments than I used to play,” the former US Open champion told ESPN in New York.
“So I think some people will be happy with that. I think it’s because I realized that I don’t know how the beginning of the year is going to go for me. I don’t know the level of play and I think I have to ease into it. So at the very least, I’ll set myself up for a very good end of the year.”
Osaka’s return will be welcomed by corners of the tennis world as she will look to enjoy the sport from another perspective and try to achieve more success in the sport.
The Japanese star was speaking at a mental health forum at the US Open and Osaka also spoke about the importance of mental health as well as balancing motherhood and her tennis career, “I learned a lot from the talk as I was talking,” Osaka spoke about the event in New York.
“I would say my role is raising awareness and letting people know that they’re not alone. Physical and mental pain are the same to me. We have doctors for physical health but when we talk about mental health it’s not as well received.
“I definitely only know this world, the tennis world. Being away from that for a long time, it was new for me. Just the new situation and not being able to train the way I wanted to, it made me feel like I would just stay at home.
“I think I’m more strategic with my time for sure. There can’t be any wasted minutes. Other than that, I’m more careful about how I present myself. There’s someone consciously watching me. I picked up so many things from my parents and she’s going to do the same thing.
“It’s definitely a weird feeling knowing that someone relies on me. I still call my mom all the time. Knowing that this little person is going to grow up and do the same is kind of weird, but I’m excited for it.”
Osaka’s new reality will definitely become real when she travels to Australia for her first tournament as a mother in January.
