Naomi Osaka Highlights Importance Of Reaching First Semi-Final Since Becoming Mother
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Naomi Osaka reached her first semi-final since becoming a mother, and it meant a lot to her, especially in light of her last season.
The four-time Grand Slam champion returned to the tennis courts in 2024 after giving birth to her daughter Shai. She was very ambitious ahead of her comeback, but she never made it past the quarter-final stage during the last 12 months.
Although she significantly improved her ranking and played some inspired tennis at times, so much so that she was nominated for the 2024 WTA Comeback Player of the Year award, which ultimately went to Paula Badosa, Osaka still wasn't happy about her results.
She wanted to challenge for the biggest trophies and win big matches. That's why, ahead of the 2025 season, she hinted that if she doesn't achieve the results she wants to, she might take a break from the sport.
Luckily for tennis fans, that now seems to be further from happening, as the former WTA World No. 1 player had a great run at the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland, which is her first tournament of the season.
Osaka reached the quarter-final in Auckland in 2017 before retiring from the quarter-final match against Ana Konjuh. This year, she went one step further, beating Lina Glushko, Julia Grabher, and Hailey Baptiste to reach the last-four stage.
For Osaka, this run meant a lot, especially since she proved to herself that she could still win. She spoke about that after her quarter-final win, recognizing the continuation of her growth from 2024.
"Honestly, yes, because I struggled a lot last year with not producing results. I think just to come out with a bang in the very beginning of the year, in the first tournament, it proves that, I guess, I don't want to say last year wasn't for nothing, but it's like a continuation of the growth."
Osaka sometimes uses a little notebook during her matches. Also in Auckland, she wrote something down, which prompted a question about her notebook, but she didn't want to speak a lot about it as it's personal to her.
"It doesn't really make sense to anyone but me. But I was just basically trying to tell myself, no matter what happens, to play the way that I want to play in Melbourne, and just keep trying to go for the shots that I know that I'll have to make there."
The WTA 250 event in New Zealand struggled with rain, which is why Osaka still doesn't know her semi-final opponent. That will be decided in a match between Alycia Parks and Katie Volynets on the day of the semi-final match, giving the Japanese player a slight advantage in being fresh.
Osaka experienced a similar situation prior to her quarter-final match, as the play was impacted by the rain, and she didn't know whether she would play against Baptiste or Jodie Burrage.
"The funny thing is, I didn't know who I was going to play when I woke up. So I had to check and that's what made me aware that their match was so late at night. So yeah, I think I was aware. And also I felt really bad, because it sucks to be injured in the first tournament of the year."
"I’m really sorry to say, but I would have preferred her to play a longer match than a shorter match. So I kind of knew it wasn't at my advantage the longer that it went."
