Naomi Osaka was always an incredibly talented player, but she wants to take the next step with her comeback and understand the game better.
There is a common theme with many supremely talented young tennis players. They enter the sport on a very high note and get on by their talent alone. Over time, other players catch up on their abilities, and that's when they need to evolve and keep improving to remain competitive.
It's something that Naomi Osaka recently realized after taking a lot of time away from the sport. She's been an incredible player for a while but then ran into problems with her mental health.
It impacted her play, and she failed to remain competitive. A long break took care of the mental health part, but now, with the comeback, Osaka needs to improve further to get back to the top.
She needs to understand the game better and not just rely on her instincts, which carried her in the first part of her career.
In the first chapter of my tennis I kind of got away with just being myself and playing with my instincts. I think I want to be someone that understands the game a lot more.
It's a pretty mature take from Osaka and quite important. Experience matters in tennis, and she has a lot of it. The way she uses that experience is the question, though, so that's where this 'reading the game' part comes into play.
The 2024 season will be a huge year for her not just because of her comeback but also because of several big events, including the Olympics. We'll find out soon enough.
I definitely want to win more Grand Slams and I guess put in more time in the French Open and Wimbledon, and play the Paris Olympics.
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