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Former world number one Naomi Osaka said on Sunday she would consider quitting tennis if her three-year-old daughter asked, casting doubt on how long she will continue playing.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan is in Tokyo to compete at the Pan Pacific Open this week. She said motherhood has reshaped her priorities.
Osaka took 15 months off the sport after the birth of her daughter, Shai, and returned in 2023. She also stepped away from tennis in 2021 to focus on her mental health.
The 29-year-old, now ranked 19th in the world, said tennis no longer fills her entire day. “I wouldn’t say I’m part-timing it but my entire day doesn’t consist of that,” she said.
She said she sometimes looks ahead and wonders how long she will play. “Because if my daughter did say she didn’t want me to travel as much, I’m not the type of person to ignore that,” Osaka said.
Osaka said her “mindset is changing a lot” with age and described her daughter as her “biggest priority."
She said she puts as much energy as she can into tennis, adding that she is proud of where she stands, given she cannot dedicate all of her time to the sport. She described balancing her duties as a player and a mother as something she is “figuring out little by little."
Osaka also backed American Coco Gauff, who said she received an “insane” amount of racist abuse online during this month’s China Open. Gauff, a Black player ranked fifth in the world, described the experience as “kind of draining."
Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and whose father is from Haiti, said, “Nobody should have to go through that.” She said she is used to such abuse, which she links to decisions she has made throughout her career. “It’s tough,” she said.
She said efforts by the WTA, the governing body of women’s tennis, to combat social media abuse do not “ever seem to fully work all the way."
Osaka acknowledged the argument that players bothered by abuse should stay off social media, but said the platforms can be the best way to connect with fans. She said she doesn't use social media.
Osaka is seeded seventh in Tokyo and faces Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the first round. World number one Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Philippines player Alexandra Eala are also in the field.
Osaka said she is “not far off” from rediscovering her best form and is “optimistic for next year."
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