Naomi Osaka is competing at the U.S. Open for the first time in two years, and she mentioned on Saturday that being back at the place where she won two of her four Grand Slam titles gives her a boost. However, it’s not because she thinks about her past victories.
Osaka explained that it’s more about remembering her childhood days in New York when she would come as a fan to watch “all the famous players that you could name,” including Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.
“I do think coming to this specific tournament helps me out. But also, whenever I step foot here, I don’t really think about the two tournaments I won,” said the 26-year-old Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. The family moved to New York when she was 3.
“I just think about how I felt when I was a kid, because I did grow up coming here, and I have such vivid memories of watching my favorite players. It’s more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy.”
She won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. She used to be ranked No. 1 but is now 85th after taking time off for mental health breaks and giving birth. She has had mixed results this season, with an 18-15 record in 2024.
She will play against No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, on Tuesday at Flushing Meadows. Last year at the U.S. Open, Osaka visited to watch some tennis and appeared with Michael Phelps in a discussion about mental health.
After losing in qualifying at the hard-court Cincinnati Open this month, Osaka posted on social media about struggling with defeats and not fully understanding why she hasn’t been playing as well as she used to.
“My biggest issue right now isn’t losing matches; it’s that I don’t feel like I’m in my body. It’s a strange feeling, missing shots I shouldn’t miss and hitting the ball softer than I remember doing before.
I try to reassure myself, ‘It’s okay, you’re doing well, just get through this one and keep pushing.’ But mentally, it’s really tiring,” she wrote. “Inside, I feel like screaming, ‘What … is happening?!?!’”
She also mentioned that “the only way I can describe how I feel now is like being postpartum” and “I don’t understand why everything feels almost brand new again.”
One problem is adjusting to different surfaces, from the red clay at the French Open to the grass at Wimbledon, then back to clay at the Paris Olympics, and now to hard courts.
Another issue is a lack of self-confidence, partly due to early exits: in the second round of the French Open against eventual champion Iga Swiatek, despite being close to winning; in the second round of Wimbledon against Emma Navarro; and in the first round of the Summer Games against three-time major champion Angelique Kerber.
“I feel like, for me, throughout the year I have had really tough matches, and it kind of lowered my confidence a little,” Osaka said. “I wouldn’t say that I played bad tennis. I just played against really good players.”
Sharing her thoughts on social media helps her find clarity. “It’s like speaking your words into the universe and letting them go,” Osaka said. “After you see it, you’re kind of just free from the thoughts that clutter your mind.”
