By Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Naomi Osaka’s fourth-round U.S. Open defeat on Monday extended her wait for another Grand Slam title, but she put the setback into perspective, saying motherhood and life beyond tennis had changed how she viewed success.
The Japanese player won the last of her four major titles at the Australian Open in 2021, before stepping away from the sport and giving birth to daughter Shai three years ago.
Despite encouraging results since returning to the tour, including a U.S. Open semi-final and Wimbledon quarter-final, Osaka said so much had happened in her life that the drought felt both long and short.
“I had a kid, you know? There’s a lot that happened in that time,” Osaka said after her 6-1 6-4 defeat by Elena Rybakina.
“If I reflect on my career and the things I’ve been able to do, there’s nothing that I regret or there’s nothing that I’m sad about.
“If I win another Grand Slam, it’s not going to change my life. That’s crazy that I can say that, because I remember the first slam that I won, it was a huge whirlwind. I think it wouldn’t feel as long.”
Osaka won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2018, repeating the feat in 2020. She claimed another major at Melbourne Park in 2019.
The 28-year-old, who had to manage an Achilles injury in her loss to Rybakina on Monday, said she was continuing to learn from her defeats.
“Today, if I was to say I’m sad, I was just sad that I couldn’t push off on my foot. I’m sad that I couldn’t do what I had set out to do,” she added.
“If I think about my life, my daughter is healthy, everyone in my family is great. I had an opportunity to play this slam. I got as far as I could. So it’s only up from here.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)
