Tennis News: Naomi Osaka announces her future plans
Tennis icon Naomi Osaka hinted that her tennis career is not over after the world became privy to her constant battles against depression and anxiety during the 2021 French Open.
Naomi Osaka hinted that her tennis career is not over.Due to her deteriorating state, Osaka only competed in 11 tournaments this year. So retirement was on the cards for the former number one.
However, she dismissed all the rumours surrounding her possible retirement from tennis.
"I feel like I'm a very curious person. So, I'm grateful to have been given all these avenues to explore," she shared.
"I am definitely looking forward to doing a lot of stuff but I am a tennis player, so if I don't play tennis for too long I get an itch," Osaka continued. Despite all the troubles she faced on the career front, she is grateful for having learned a lot."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Naomi Osaka opened up on her decision to take time away from the sport for her mental health<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tennis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tennis</a> <a href="https://t.co/oRTHmPBtlr">pic.twitter.com/oRTHmPBtlr</a></p>— FirstSportz Tennis (@FS_Tennis1) <a href="https://twitter.com/FS_Tennis1/status/1600426856427425793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She revealed that her growth was necessary, and now she does a better job regrouping and dealing with her emotions. After months of silence, Osaka returned to speak about her mental health.
At the 2021 edition of the Roland Garros event, she avoided a press conference due to her declining mental health. She decided to stay away from reporters and stated: "The organizers ignore the mental health of the athletes."
After that, Osaka took a break to recover, having endured a difficult season. She suffered from panic attacks and depression right after grabbing her first Grand Slam.
In 2022, she was not in the limelight but managed to climb to world number 42.
Osaka then returned to tennis and spoke about her experiences dealing with mental health.
Now, Osaka's back again to speak for what she believes in
The Japanese legend divulged that the transformation in her mindset occurred during the Tokyo Olympics, where she met athletes facing similar circumstances. She seemed genuinely concerned about them.
Osaka said: "I remained at my house for a while after it all happened. But then I went to the Olympics and there were so many athletes who approached me.
"I was really surprised and honoured because these are people I see on TV and I like, I felt really grateful and supported," she added.
She shared how important the break was for her recovery.
She learned how not to resist her feelings and accept the state she was in. She recollected the moment she began to face her problems.
"If I feel like this, why should I keep moving forward, when I can face it and fix it and then continue with my journey?"
The Japanese star is doing better and hoping to make a solid comeback to tennis. In 2019, Osaka scripted history by becoming the first Asian player to climb to the top of the WTA world rankings.
No other tennis player from Japan had won a Grand Slam singles title before her. As of now, she has four majors to her name.