Naomi Osaka‘s experience of motherhood has been “very rewarding.”
The 25-year-old tennis player gave birth to her baby girl, Shai, back in July, and Osaka has now revealed that she’s relishing the challenge.
Osaka — who co-parents Shai with rapper Cordae — told “Entertainment Tonight”: “It’s very interesting, but very rewarding. I’m doing good.”
Osaka is already preparing to make her return to tennis in 2024. The sports star has been posting about her intense workout sessions on social media and Osaka is eager to compete at the Australian Open in January.
She said: “Honestly I’ve been athletic or been playing sports since I was three, so it’s … it’s like a part of my life.”
Osaka recently spent time at the U.S. Open in New York, and she’s desperate to return to competitive action.
She shared: “I went to the Open earlier today and it just brought me so much inspiration. So I’m very excited. It’s made me a lot more grateful. Just a lot of little things I took for granted, now I’m kind of looking at it and since I can’t play competitively right now, it’s really making me itch to come back.”
In January, Osaka revealed she would be taking a break from the tennis courts in 2023 because of her pregnancy.
She wrote on X: “Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023.”
The former world No. 1 subsequently revealed her pregnancy news and confirmed that she won’t return to her sport until 2024.
Osaka said: “I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ ha ha 2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024. Love you all infinitely [heart emoji] PS: I don’t think there’s a perfectly correct path to take in life but I always felt that if you move forward with good intentions you’ll find your way eventually.”
