Naomi Osaka will play for Japan in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup, ahead of which she spoke about her tennis comeback and how it's gone so far.
It's been an interesting comeback for Osaka so far, as it didn't quite go the way she expected early on, but then she improved. She openly admitted to being overly optimistic about her progress, which evaporated quickly with a couple of early losses.
She would find some form in Doha and in Indian Wells and added wins at the Miami Open as well, but none of that was really to the standard she expected it to be. It's a tough thing to accept, but she's trying to focus on the bigger picture and not just the results.
It's ultimately about becoming better as a player, and then results will come. She talked a bit about that in Tokyo ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in the coming days.
"It's really tough to look at it results-wise. But I have to look at it in a bigger picture and try to expand on my game and expand on the knowledge that I'm constantly learning as a player."
Osaka was really honored when team captain Ai Sugiyama asked her to play, and she readily accepted. Getting more matches on her comeback journey is always good as she's searching for her best tennis.
She's also excited to be back in the country playing some tennis, as it last happened a while ago. Hopefully, she can give them some exciting tennis and wins, of course.
"When I was younger, I tried a lot to hit a lot of crazy shots -- now I'm a little bit more strategic. I hope that it's fun for everyone to watch, but I'm not going to do anything crazy."
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