"I should be somewhere where I'm obviously currently not" - Osaka on bad season

| by Zlatko Vodenicharov

2022 season is the first trophy-less season for Naomi Osaka since 2018 and obviously her worst in the recent years.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion struggled to go deep at Grand Slam tournaments and her struggles were obvious also at lower-tier events. Now, Naomi Osaka comes to Tokyo for the 2022 Japan Open and she's ready to show her best tennis in front of home fans.

Fans worried as Emma Raducanu practices with bandaged thigh ahead of Korea Open
Fans worried as Emma Raducanu practices with bandaged thigh ahead of Korea Open

"I feel like I just want to play well," Osaka said. "I think that's always a really good feeling for me. Whenever I come to Japan, I feel really happy, I feel like I always play well here, and I think I do. So I think it's a really good combination."

"It feels really weird to hear that I'm the defending champion because it was the last time I played in 2019," Osaka said. "I would love to win it again, but I think just taking it one match at a time … and also just playing in front of a crowd in Tokyo again, because the Olympics was crowdless, so it will just be nice to see people."

2022 Japan Open Tokyo WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - $757,900
2022 Japan Open Tokyo WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - $757,900

So far in 2022, former world number one won 13 matches while losing 9 and she reflected on her year, stating:

"I think, of course, the year has (not been) the best year for me," Osaka said. "But I think overall I've learned a lot about myself and I'm just happy to be healthy. Because in Europe, I did injure myself, and that was like my first injury that took me that long to get healed."

"I think life is kind of ups and downs and this one was kind of more down than up, but overall I'm pretty happy with where I am now. It was kind of hard at first. Just because I feel like I should be somewhere where I'm obviously currently not. But I think I feel like, for me, it's more about being at peace with myself."

2022 Japan Open Tokyo WTA Draw with Osaka, Kenin, Badosa & more
2022 Japan Open Tokyo WTA Draw with Osaka, Kenin, Badosa & more

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