Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has had an arduous journey back to the court after giving birth to her first child last year.
Osaka has been candid with her fans about the trauma she experienced delivering her daughter, Shai, whom she shares with her boyfriend, rapper Cordae.
As a result, the four-time Grand Slam winner has some trepidation about undergoing the pregnancy process again.
“I just wanna say, I’m not preggos, but if I was, I wouldn’t want many more,” she told her 420K TikTok followers while relaxing in her bed, “because giving birth was traumatic. But thank you, though, for your blessings.”
Naomi Osaka said childbirth has strengthened her as a person
After welcoming Shai into the world, Osaka has been transparent on social media about postpartum depression and the laborious path back to elite tennis status. The 26-year-old also shared that going through the onerous childbirth process has strengthened her in previously unfathomable ways.
“I feel so strong,” Osaka continued. “People talk about childbirth, but it’s different once you experience it. I just feel like I can do anything and nothing will bother me, and the pain tolerance has definitely increased a lot from that. I just don’t really care about other people’s opinions anymore.”
Her elevated sense of self has not been without setbacks. The formerly feared tennis star was ranked No. 1 in the world at the beginning of this decade. As she goes through the process of regaining the form, endurance and strength that made her a champion, Osaka admits it’s strange to not perform at optimum levels, as she’s currently ranked No. 85.
“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses, though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” Osaka explained to her fans. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try and tell myself ‘It’s fine you’re doing great, just get through this one and keep pushing.’ Mentally, it’s really draining though.”
Osaka admits to reconciling the juxtaposition of the pre- and post-baby versions of herself since delivering her child in July 2023.
“I definitely only know this world, the tennis world, and just being away from that for a long time, it was new for me,” she told the outlet. “I think it was just the whole new situation and not being able to train like I wanted to, things like that, it kind of made me feel like I just had to stay at home, and you know how doctors tell you not to travel after a certain amount of weeks, it just felt like a lot of restrictions. I think that was what it was.”
Osaka is expected to participate in the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year, the U.S. Open, which runs from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8, 2024.
