Naomi Osaka gave birth to her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, and ever since then, she has been busy maintaining a perfect balance between her off-court and on-court life. With time, she has found ways to integrate motherhood into life and career, demonstrating the possibility of successfully managing both of them. How has motherhood helped her have a different perspective in her life? “Becoming a mom, I’ve learned to become a lot more patient and sort of understand that I can’t control everything, but I can only do my best in certain situations and hope that the outcome is positive, but if not, then there’s always another day.” She has now discovered that Shai is her “ultimate motivator” and she’s is the one who at times pushes her to chase greatness. Motherhood has been amazing for her till now, but what are the challenges she’s had to deal with?
Well, the biggest challenge for every tennis player is leaving their families in the middle of their hectic schedules. According to Naomi Osaka, “freedom” is spending time with her daughter and seeing joy in her eyes. There are times when she has spoken highly about prioritizing motherhood above all.
For example, she once admitted that if she ever falls short of her goals on the tennis court, she’d rather spend time with her daughter than do anything else. But since she’s yet again active on the Tour, Osaka barely gets the time to spend with her daughter.
Recently, she even shared a picture of her holding the baby stroller. Naomi Osaka captioned that picture on her IG stories, “Being a parent is the most amazing thing ever. But also really hard sometimes especially when I’m on the road and I miss my daughter.” Then further she went on to make an announcement saying, “So, I’m teaming up with @modernhealthco for Elevate Well-Being today for a session on burnout parents.” In another IG story, she shared a link for registration and also gave a glimpse of a Barbie, with the caption, “Oh, and everyone who shows up gets entered to win one of my Barbies.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 27: Naomi Osaka of Japan walks on court before playing against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia during their Women’s Singles First Round match on Day Two of the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka has been associated with Modern Health as Chief Community Health Advocate since 2022. Speaking about this inclusion, the Modern Health founder and CEO, Alyson Watson, said, “We are incredibly excited and humbled to have Naomi join the Modern Health family and become part of our important mission. Naomi’s bravery in publicly sharing her own struggles has already helped to destigmatize and reframe the conversation around mental health for the next generation to be more open and vulnerable.” Even Osaka had then highlighted a similar passion for supporting communities as the real key factor that drove her into this partnership.
Be it advocating the importance of mental awareness, or showing ways how to make a balance between personal and professional lives, despite the hardships, Naomi Osaka is a true inspiration for every woman. All she now wants is to become a “good role model” for her daughter. Talking about setting examples, well, recently the Japanese tennis star accomplished yet another astonishing feat in her career. What’s it?
The former world number one, Naomi Osaka, wins her first title as a mother
It has been a season of ups and downs for Naomi Osaka. She started the season by reaching the final of the ASB Classic, but over there she had to withdraw from the final match after the first set due to an injury. Then, after that, although she made it to the third round at the AO, she was yet again forced to retire from that match. After that, Osaka struggled a bit in the ‘Sunshine Doubles‘, and then it was followed by a first-round exit at the Madrid Open.
After her disappointing exit from the Madrid Open, she decided to enter the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo, France. Interestingly, over there she defeated Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan in the final by 6-1,7-5 to clinch her first WTA title since triumphing at the 2021 AO. In fact, this is also her first-ever title on clay. How does it feel to win a title since returning to tennis after giving birth to her daughter in July 2023?
“Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst. That’s one of my favorite things about life though, there’s always room to grow and evolve. Thanks to everyone accompanying me on this journey, I know it’s turbulent, but it’s also really fun and I’m grateful,” Osaka wrote in a recent tweet. After this victory, she also took a subtle dig at her haters.
With this win, she has also made a return to the Top 50 of the WTA Rankings. She’s currently ranked 48th on the list, and this incredible victory will boost her confidence further before the Italian Open. Naomi Osaka is all set to face Sara Errani in the R128 of the Italian Open. Do you think she can get off to a winning start in Rome?
The post “Really Hard”- Torn Between Courts and Cradles, Naomi Osaka Shares the Hardest Part of Motherhood appeared first on EssentiallySports.