Naomi Osaka provides health update after struggling in first match of 2026

Friday, 02 January 2026 at 18:16

byErik Virostko

The 2026 season started with the United Cup, and it started with some health struggles for Naomi Osaka.

Osaka was one of the first players to step onto the court for a competitive match in 2026. She initially planned to compete at the ASB Classic, but changed her mind, withdrew from the event, and signed up for the United Cup, representing Japan in the team competition.

Japan took on Greece in the first tie of the event, but it didn't go as expected for the players from the Land of the Rising Sun. Osaka started the tie by taking on Maria Sakkari. The former WTA world No. 1 player was a favorite to beat Sakkari, but she lost the match in two sets.

Sakkari was the better player on the court, winning 6-4, 6-2, in an hour and 34 minutes, but it was obvious that Osaka wasn't 100% healthy. She appeared to be coughing at times and struggled physically.

After the match, the four-time major winner spoke about her struggles, revealing she had become ill during the final stage of her pre-season preparations. That illness carried over to the start of the season as well.

"I mean, honestly from my end, it's tough to say like I don't care because I do care. I kind of have been dealing with some health stuff, so I'm kind of just happy to be out here right now. It's not like serious, but yeah. I was pretty happy with the level of playing that I played at right now, so whatever."

"I'm not operating at the percent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks because, like, I had a really good off-season so I thought I was going to do really well here. Then I got really sick. I think I'm at the tail end of that, but still not amazing. So, I feel like for me, I'm just trying to get better every day. Obviously, I had a cough, like a runny nose, like all that nasty stuff, yeah. Hopefully it goes away before the Australian Open."

Osaka shared that it's been some time since she got sick. She thought she would be fine before the season started, but that hasn't happened, and she now has to deal with an unexpected challenge.

"Honestly, it's been a minute, which is why I'm shocked that I still have it. I think I got it from my daughter (smiling). I want to say like before Christmas Eve."

Naomi Osaka says nerves played a role in serving struggles at the United Cup

Osaka didn't play at her best level in her opening match at the United Cup. In particular, the Japanese player struggled on her serve, with Sakkari even hitting more aces than Osaka, who is one of the best servers on the WTA Tour.

Osaka won only half of the points played after her first serve and 52% of the rallies after her second serve. However, she didn't blame the serving struggles on her illness, saying nerves contributed to the subpar performance.

"I definitely wouldn't blame that on being sick. I was just really nervous so my hand was shaking a little bit. That's definitely from my end that comes the first match of the year or if I have a long break or something so..."