Finding Peace On And Off The Tennis Court

Everyone loves a good comeback story. It’s what makes sports so compelling, and creates the type of story lines that has us rooting for the individual. Two years ago, Naomi Osaka began her own comeback story, and set sail on the waters of the second chapter of her professional tennis career. 

In 2023, after announcing she was pregnant with her first child, Osaka did not play the entire season while giving birth and on maternity leave. She returned to play at the Brisbane International in 2024, an Australian Open tune-up, where she lost in the second round, and then fell in the opening round of the Australian Open, losing two of her first three matches in her return to the court. 

“The competitor in me is really frustrated that I’m not winning these matches, of course. So I wouldn’t say this comeback is how I thought because I’m delusional enough to think I could have won the tournament,” she said. “[But] I think my delusion is what allows me to win the tournaments.”

The tenor of her response revealed a more introspective and nuanced Osaka than we had seen in the past, and perhaps could be a result of the way the early part of her career went, and the first break from professional tennis she took back in 2021. 

After bursting onto the scene with a run to the U.S. Open title in 2018, Osaka climbed to the top spot in the world. She would go on to win a total of four Grand Slam titles between 2018 and 2021, and spent 25 weeks as the world number one player. But at the 2021 French Open, Osaka won her first round match and skipped her press conference, resulting in fines. The following day, she withdrew from the tournament citing mental health issues. And while she would play at the Cincinnati Open and the U.S. Open later that summer, she announced a hiatus from the sport that fall, citing those same mental health issues.

“I feel like for me recently when I win I don’t feel happy. I feel more [of] a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal,” she said while tearing up at her press conference after losing at the U.S. Open. “I didn’t really want to cry, but basically I feel like…this is very hard to articulate…I’m kind of at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match. Sorry. Yeah, I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.”

And with that, Osaka stepped away from the sport at the age of 23, disillusioned from the fame, the pressure and everything that comes with being a high-level professional athlete. Her decision was met with mixed reactions at the time, with many showing her support and commending her for taking control of her life and career, while others thought she was being an ungrateful and spoiled celebrity. 

Either way, it was an important time for Osaka to reset her mind, and decide what she wanted to do with her life. Osaka cited years growing up as a junior player training while she watched other kids her age enjoy their summer vacations, and she was spending her hours on the tennis court. By taking a break on her own terms, she was able to rekindle her love for the sport. 

“For me, I felt like it was necessary, but I kind of felt ashamed in that moment because as an athlete you’re kind of told to be strong and push through everything, but I think I learned that it’s better to re-group and adjust the feelings you have in that moment and you can come back stronger,” Osaka said as she prepared to make her return in 2022. “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way because I learned a lot during that time.”

She returned in 2022, playing sparingly and even reaching the Miami Open final, but injuries and rust produced unsavory results for Osaka. And prior to the 2023 season, she announced she was taking another break from professional tennis, but this time it wasn’t because of mental health, it was because she was pregnant with her first child. 

Osaka did not play the entire season in 2023, and made her return to tennis as a mother, with a newfound perspective and renewed joy.

“Honestly, I’m feeling pretty positive,” Osaka said. “Giving birth to my daughter changed my mindset a lot. And it’s also made me realize that my world doesn’t have to revolve around me–which might also be a little selfish. [But] I guess I’ve just found outer happiness, and inner peace.”

For the last two years, Osaka has been competing regularly on the WTA tour, and has returned to the form that saw her catapult to the top of the sport when she was in her early 20s. Now 28-years-old, she has her sights set on adding another major to her resume. At the U.S. Open last year, she reached the semifinals, her best major result since winning the Australian Open back in 2021, and she begins 2026 as the 16th ranked player in the world.

Osaka’s journey is proof that progress is not linear, and it’s important to take ownership of the things in your life. Now that she views her worth and value not through her wins on the tennis court but rather the love and support of the people around her, she has become more free on court, and more secure with herself. 

“Tennis is something I live for, but it’s not the reason I’m alive. I think playing matches and then coming home to [my daughter] will change my view on a lot of things,” she explained. “When I was younger, success was how many trophies I would win, or things like that. And now I think success is, I don’t want to say inner peace, but it’s just having the people around you that love you. And [if] they’re all good, you’re good.”