“I want to play with the big dogs so bad” – Osaka after Miami victory
The former world No 1 opened up about her path back from maternity leave
(c) Mike Fray, Mouratoglou Tennis Academy
After escaping a tight spot in her opening match of the Miami Open, Naomi Osaka revealed she still has a deep ambition to return to the highest level of the game.
The former No 1 rejoined the WTA Tour in 2024 after giving birth to her daughter in 2023, and has had a challenging road back to being a member of the sport’s elite. She currently ranks No 61 in the world, having struggled with injuries, nerves and general rustiness over the past 14 months.
On Tuesday in Miami she fought hard to comeback from a set and a break down against No 108 Yuliia Starodubtseva, and shared afterwards exactly where she is at with her game.
“I want to play with the big dogs so bad,” she declared. “I just see everyone playing so well and I want to do the same.”
The Japanese went on to explain that her path back from pregnancy has been tough, but she is now feeling “a solid 75 [out of 100].”
“I can’t speak for all the mothers, but for me in particular it was really hard to come back after pregnancy,” she said. “I’ve learnt a lot of abdomen terms that I’ve never heard of before, I feel very knowledgeable now. I’m just really glad to be here, glad to be healthy.
“I felt really, really good in Australia. And then I got injured and couldn’t play for three weeks or a month. That gap really took me back a lot. Definitely was a little bit of a letdown to be injured right at the start of the season, especially when I was playing pretty well.
“I think my nerves have a lot to do with that. I think now it’s better, but I still find myself not really committed to the shots I want to hit. I have to remember to process. I’m just taking it one day at a time, I guess we’ll see.”
Movement a highlight against Starodubtseva
On her match against Starodubtseva, Osaka highlighted that her movement is one aspect of her game she’s feeling particularly pleased about now.
“I think the thing I’m the most proud of is my movement,” she said. “I was able to get a lot of balls back today. I don’t think I have, in my head, thought to rely on my wheels in a really long time. So I’m really glad I’ve got to this point in my fitness – it’s been quite a long journey post-pregnancy, so I’m really happy about that.
“I’m also working on not being so nervous. Some of my shots didn’t go the way I wanted them to because I was a little shaky. I think getting more matches under my belt, hopefully that will go away.
“Mentally it took a lot (beating Starodubtseva), but there’s a zone of focus I get into where I don’t remember certain things. I was talking to Patrick (Mouratoglou) and he was like, ‘You were a set down and a break down and a point to be 5-2 down’, and I couldn’t remember that. So I was kind of shocked.
“I just try to make every point count and eventually it adds up.”
Samsonova waits in second round
Osaka’s desire to play with “the big dogs” is right around the corner, with No 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova – currently ranked No 18 in the live WTA rankings – waiting in the second round.
Osaka is 12-12 against top 50 opponents since returning from giving birth, and 7-7 against the top 20. Perhaps her most impressive performance in the last 14 months was last year at Roland-Garros, where she held match points against four-time champion Iga Swiatek.
The 27-year-old went on to lose the match 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5, but regards it as a great source of confidence heading into future tough encounters.
“That match was really important to me because I don’t typically feel good about my game on clay, but to do well against her – she’s won three or four French Opens – it was a really good confidence booster,” she said.
“I do think about that game when I’m having a really hard day, like today. I hope I can have many more of those types of matches.”
