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WELLINGTON, New Zealand \u2014 Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she won’t “hang around” in tennis if her achievements fail to reach her high expectations.<\/p>\nWELLINGTON, New Zealand \u2014 Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she won’t “hang around” in tennis if her achievements fail to reach her high expectations.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Japanese star won her first match since she suffered a back injury in the China Open in October at the ASB tennis classic in Auckland on Monday.<\/p>\n
The seventh seeded Osaka overcame Lina Glushko of Israel in the first round, 6-4, 6-4.<\/p>\n
Osaka said a pre-tournament press conference in Auckland on Sunday she was “humbled” by her form in 2024, during which she restarted her professional career after an approximately 15-month layoff after the birth of her first child. She concluded the season ranked No 58.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think I’m the type of player that would hang around,” Osaka told reporters. “I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now, if I’m not over a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.<\/p>\n
“I’d rather spend time with my daughter if I’m not where I think I should be, and where I feel like I can be.”<\/p>\n
Osaka had a 22-17 win-loss singles record in 2024, reaching the quarterfinals in Doha and at s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
“I think 2024 humbled me, but I also feel like I grew a lot,” she added. “I worked considerably harder than I’ve ever done before. So, in that, I guess it was quite hard to not achieve the outcomes I wanted, but I feel like I’m growing and learning and I am really excited about this year (2025).<\/p>\n
“I played pretty nice matches. People still talk to me about my Iga (Swiatek) match at the French Open (lost 7-6 1-6 7-5). So I’m delighted that I was able to give people memories as well.<\/p>\n
“Even though I got injured in Beijing, which was my last tournament, I feel pretty optimistic about how that match would have turned out (against Coco Gauff), and I am excited to play on hard courts again.”<\/p>\n
Osaka won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, and the US Open in 2018 and 2020. She believes she still has a great love for tennis, despite recent injury setbacks.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was three, and a huge part of that I owe to my parents, but I never really saw my life doing anything else,” she said. “Then, when I sat there and had the opportunity to do other things, I realized that I’d rather be playing tennis.<\/p>\n
“So, it was kind of one of those realization moments where you feel like you thought you were forced to do something, but in actuality you very much truly loved it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WELLINGTON, New Zealand \u2014 Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she won’t “hang around” in tennis if her achievements fail to reach her high expectations. The 27-year-old Japanese star won her first match since she suffered a back injury in the China Open in October at the ASB tennis classic in Auckland on Monday. 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