Naomi Osaka insists 'no such thing as failure' as she shrugs off 'rough results' after return

Published 11/02/2024 at 18:11 GMT

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka returned to tennis for the first time in more than a year after giving birth to daughter Shai in July. The 26-year-old has failed to advance past the second round of any tournament since her return, and she acknowledged "there's going to be a lot of tough matches" as she battles her way back in the WTA rankings. Osaka will play at the Qatar Open next week.

'Hopefully the results will come' - Osaka admits comeback has 'been a little rough'

Naomi Osaka said “there is no such thing as failure” after some “rough results” ahead of the Qatar Open.

The four-time Grand Slam winner had been away from the sport for 15 months as she took time out with pregnancy for her daughter Shai, who was born in July last year.

Osaka is now back on the WTA circuit and has found it tough going so far, failing to progress beyond the second round at any event.

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She is now at the Qatar Open in Doha, where she discussed how she has changed her approach to touring since returning to tennis.

"I've been enjoying myself. I think I'm taking time to do activities and I guess explore the cities that I'm travelling," she said.

"It's been a little rough results wise, but I feel like I'm growing a lot as a player and hopefully, with more matches, I'll be able to do better.

"I guess the way that I navigate tour life has changed a lot. So I try to make the most out of my time. And I think, I guess being a mum has helped me with that, because every minute does matter.

"It's funny, I find myself being on Shai's schedule even though I'm here, so I know exactly when she wakes up and everything, so I think that's cool."

Osaka has won just one match this year, on her return at the Brisbane International, and lost nine games in a row as she surrendered an early lead to lose to qualifier Danielle Collins at the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this week.

Despite her recent struggles on the court, she struck a positive note for all she had managed so far.

"I took a little dip after Abu Dhabi,” she acknowledged.

“But I had a talk with my team and I think the most important thing is just to try as hard as I can. Hopefully the results will come.

"I know there's going to be a lot of tough matches and probably a lot of scrappy ones, but I just have to learn how to have match rhythm again and know that there's no such thing as failure. You just have to keep getting back up."