Naomi Osaka still dreams of glory despite latest Wimbledon flop

Straits Times

17 hours ago

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Japan's Naomi Osaka looks dejected after losing her Wimbledon third round match against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
– Naomi Osaka is not one to hide behind cliches. When things go wrong, she does not deflect or spin the story. At Wimbledon on July 4, after a bruising Grand Slam defeat, the former world No. 1 was certainly in no mood for comforting words.
The Japanese star admitted that she contemplates life without tennis, but at the same time, she does not plan to quit just yet, despite her latest painful loss.
Osaka blew a golden opportunity to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time as she was beaten by Russian world No. 50 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The 27-year-old took the first set on Court Two, but she lost her way as Pavlyuchenkova battled back to clinch a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion, but she has not won a Major since 2021 and has still never been beyond the third round at the All England Club.
'I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I'm so sorry,' she told reporters, more weary than bitter.
'I have nothing positive to say about myself. Honestly, right now I'm just really upset. I wanted to do better than I did before. I thought I could make a great run here but clearly not.'
Since her triumph at the Australian Open four years ago, she is on a dismal run of 12 successive Grand Slam appearances without reaching the fourth round.
Osaka gave birth to a daughter in July 2023 and returned from a 15-month sabbatical for the start of the 2024 season.
Visibly frustrated throughout her post-match press conference after losing, she was asked if she thought about hanging up her racket to find happiness elsewhere.
'Yeah. I feel like I'd be kind of crazy to not, but I think right now I have so many things I want to attempt to achieve,' she said.
'I feel like while I still have the opportunity to try, I want to take it – even though I get very upset when I lose. I think that's just my competitive nature. That's also part of being the younger sister.
'No person wants to feel this way, like, multiple times throughout the year, but tennis players are crazy.'
The Japanese, now a lowly 53rd in the WTA rankings, has always struggled on grass and is relishing a return to hard courts.
'In Paris (at the French Open) I was very emotional when I sat there (after losing in the first round) and now I don't feel anything. I guess I prefer to feel nothing than everything,' she said.
'I'm glad to be done with this, and I'm looking forward to the hard courts.'
On her daughter's birthday week, Osaka wanted to give herself – and her supporters – something to celebrate. Instead, she walked off court feeling once again the familiar ache of what could have been. AFP, REUTERS