At the Roland Garros media day, Japanese Naomi Osaka talked about some very interesting topics. The 4-time Grand Slam champion focused on her dominant period, compared to the current dominance of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Naomi reflected on the differences between these two periods, underlining how the differences or similarities are also a question of perception.
“Have I been as dominant in my past as Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are now? In this part of my journey, I’m not really comparing myself right now. Maybe later, when I have more confidence and reach the level I want, maybe on hard courts I’ll be able to start doing that, but for now I really feel like I’m really learning again. I think it’s more of an external perspective. For me, I’m so focused on what I’m doing. And I know they play incredible tennis and they almost always do. And I’ve never been the type of player to do that anyway. So I consider them an inspiration and I don’t know,” she told.
Naomi Osaka says Iga Swiatek & Aryna Sabalenka are playing incredible tennis almost all the time & that she was never the type of player to do that, even at her best
“In your past days you were as dominant as Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka right now. How far away do you think you are… pic.twitter.com/jkf8PaRbxM
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 25, 2024
In an interview with The Guardian, Naomi talked about the emotion of being a mother, declaring herself ambitious in view of her upcoming Tour commitments. Since the birth of her daughter Shai, the life of the four-time slam champion has totally changed.
“Being a mother forced me to look at life differently. I know a lot of people probably think I retired that year, but it made me so much more grateful for the sport and, in turn, made me realize that there there are so many possibilities outside of tennis. I realized that I still love playing tennis. I’m trying my best, trying to make friends. I was walking around the city the other day and I find it very interesting to watch people. Everyone has their own things. Before, I was in a bubble, not noticing or taking the time to see what others were doing. I’m determined. I’ve had this trait since I was little, but the people who get called crazy are usually the ones who do something truly spectacular.
Naomi Osaka© Dan Istitene / Staff Getty Images Sport
My delusional trait is probably daydreaming and making up a scenario that I want to happen, and sometimes it does. I’m the type of person who wants things to happen quickly, but I understand that tennis has come a long way and that these are the best players in the world. It also helped me to observe other mothers and how they developed their returns.
I appreciate where I am now. I would definitely have done the typical tennis player thing, which was not talking to anyone and staying in an extremely dark hole. Now I try to communicate openly what I feel. The only way I know how to measure my success is through wins, and if I don’t get them, I feel like I’m not doing well. But I’ve played against some very good players, so hopefully the results will come little by little,” she analyzed.
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