Becoming a mother gave Naomi Osaka a jolt of inspiration to dedicate herself to tennis again, but that also brought some pain.
When Naomi Osaka last competed, things were vastly different in her life. Back then, nobody really knew how committed Osaka truly was to tennis. Fast forward to now, we don't really doubt it, as she reiterated her motivation to return to her peak a few times.
Back then, she wasn't a mother, while today, she is, and that's an added motivation for her. Becoming a mother is actually what kickstarted her dedication to tennis, as she wants to be a great example for her daughter, Shai.
It's a positive development because she even contemplated walking away from the sport entirely. Her first experience back as a mother will be without her daughter as she left her back home.
It's certainly something that she's not entirely thrilled about because she misses her dearly, but for now, that's the setup as it makes the most sense for the baby, and the Japanese player spoke about it ahead of the 2024 Australian Open.
"It's definitely been really hard. She's learning things while I'm gone. I'm hoping she doesn't learn how to crawl before I come back. She's doing her little plank thing and scooting forward and back. I think it might be a little inevitable."
Osaka thought about bringing her daughter with her to Australia but ultimately settled against it because leaving her back home seemed the best for the baby. She wants her with her, but that would have been too selfish in her mind.
"I'm definitely sad, but I feel like it's a selfish sad because I want her to be here. But I think for her health and like her whole environment is at home - you know what I mean? I don't want to put her out of that while she's still so young. I FaceTime her often, so..."
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