(New York) Naomi Osaka cried, but with joy: the Japanese, who suffered from depression and is trying to return to the highest level, fully rediscovered the feeling of happiness on a tennis court at the US Open where she is playing in the second round on Thursday.
“In my first US Open title (in 2018), I played against Sabalenka in the round of 16. I cried a lot after my victory because I broke a glass ceiling. It’s funny because I think I cried more today than during my Grand Slam titles,” she said Tuesday after her first-round victory.
Four-time Major winner (2018 and 2020 US Open, 2019 and 2021 Australian Open) and former world No. 1 who plays in New York as 88eOsaka had ended her season in September 2022 to treat physical problems, mental health and to give birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023.
Since last January, she has been trying to get back to her best level, without much success so far.
The 26-year-old Japanese has not in fact made it past the second round in a Major or even the quarter-finals in a WTA tournament.
Top 10
On Tuesday, she may have only qualified for the second round of the US Open. But it was the circumstances that made this victory so special.
PHOTO GEOFF BURKE, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Naomi Osaka after her victory on Tuesday.
“Last year, I came to see Coco (Gauff) play her semi-final. I was in the crowd and I didn’t know if I would be able to play at that level again. So to play against such a strong player and beat her, it’s very important for me,” she explained after her victory against the 10e world Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.
It must be said that she had not beaten a player since top 10 since his victory over Kiki Bertens (9e) in 2020 in Brisbane and that she finally repeated this performance in her favorite tournament.
“In addition, the stands (at Court Louis-Armstrong) were full, even though I had wondered if people would come to see me play,” she added.
Osaka had not played in the previous two U.S. Opens. This year, she lost in the first round at the Australian Open and in the second round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“I have worked so hard, dreamed and hoped so much… Now I would like to go further. For the moment, I am very happy with the way I have played,” she added.
Going further in New York will be complicated since she will find last year’s semi-finalist Karolina Muchova (52) on her route on Thursday.e).
Outfits
But if Osaka has indeed rediscovered her taste for tennis and the circuit in general, and if the champion she was reappears, anything seems possible for her in an open women’s draw.
“I had confidence issues this year, but now I have to look in the mirror and say, ‘This tournament has been very successful for you, there’s no reason why you can’t do it again,'” she said.
Especially since most of her good matches since her return in January, she has played against good, even very good, players. Including her second round match at Roland-Garros where she only lost 7-5 in the third set against the queen of the place Iga Swiatek.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m more motivated or if it’s because I know I have no choice but to play well and not think about the expectations and pressure I put on myself,” she explains.
She has another ace up her sleeve: the colorful outfit influenced by manga culture and its famous Harajuku district in Tokyo, which she has in other colors.
Against Ostapenko, “I said to myself, ‘You have to win to be able to wear the other colours’ (laughs). It was very important for me. So I think you’ll see me in the other colours next time.”