Just days after narrowly missing out on her first tournament win since 2021, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said at the Australian Open on Friday that she was confident about her chances this year after a difficult 2024.
On Sunday, the 27-year-old had to withdraw from the ASB Classic final in Auckland, New Zealand due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set. Osaka admitted a scan couldn’t resolve all injury concerns but said she was realistic and ready to play.
Japanese Osaka is looking positively towards the tennis year 2025
“The MRI wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad either,” 50th-seeded Osaka said at a news conference at Melbourne Park. “I’m pretty optimistic that I can play my match. I’ve been training pretty well in the two days I’ve been here, so… it seems to be going well.”
“My attitude is probably clearer now than it has been in a long time. Obviously I did pretty well in Auckland.”
After returning to the tour last year after giving birth to her first child, Osaka said she lacked an understanding of what it would take to be competitive again, something she learned in 2024.
“When I came here last year, it was like hopes and dreams,” she said. “When I sit here now, it’s like reality. It’s funny because I still have the same hopes and dreams, but it’s more like I understand how much hard work it takes to get to this point.”
Osaka said missing out on her first tournament win since her second Australian Open title four years ago hurt, but only temporarily.
“It was devastating in that moment,” she said. “I felt like I could touch it.”
“I’m kind of strangely over it now. About 30 minutes after that happened, I was over it because I felt like I was playing really well. I can just keep going and hopefully I can get to another final.”
The Australian Open main draw begins on Sunday. Osaka will face 58th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia. It will be a repeat of their 2024 first-round duel, the first of their three 2024 matches.
Garcia wrote on social media: “This is becoming a classic.”
2025-01-12 15:34:00