Osaka: "I don't see myself playing for much longer without a certain ranking"

"I don't think I'm the type of player who would be out there," began a Naomi Osaka who has made it clear that if she doesn't climb in the rankings and find her top level of tennis, she will hang up her racket. The 27-year-old Japanese, currently ranked 57th in the world, has gone almost three years without setting foot in a final, during which time she has had several breaks, including a longer one when she had her daughter. How much longer will she give her all to tennis?

"I have a lot of respect for all the players on the circuit, but at this point in my life, if I am not above a certain ranking, I don't see myself playing for much longer. I prefer to spend time with my daughter if I'm not where I believe I should be and where I feel I can be," Naomi revealed in a press conference, as reported by Stuff.

Her relationship with tennis

 "I have been playing tennis since I was three years old, and a big part of that I owe to my parents, but I never really saw my life doing anything else. Then, when I sat down and had the opportunity to do other things, I realized that I preferred to be playing tennis. It was one of those moments when you realize you were forced to do something, but you actually love it."

"2024 was a reality check, but I also felt that I grew a lot. I worked harder than I ever had before. In that sense, I guess it was very painful not to get the results I wanted, but I feel like I'm growing and learning, and I'm very excited for this year. I played some really good matches. People still talk to me about my match against Iga at Roland Garros. Although I got injured in Beijing, which was my last tournament, I feel quite optimistic about how that match (against Gauff) would have turned out and I'm excited to return to playing on hard courts."

Her next challenge

Naomi Osaka's next challenge is at the WTA Auckland 2025, a tournament where she has not yet lifted the trophy: "I think I'm more of a big match player, but I hope to have more maturity now and be able to carry it into all the matches I play."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Osaka: "No me veo jugando durante mucho más tiempo si no tengo cierto ranking"