Naomi Osaka claims that this year has been “more down than up”

• Former world number one Naomi Osaka says she has gone through.
• “More downs than ups” this year, as she prepares for.
• The start of the WTA Finals in East Bourne later this month.

Naomi Osaka hasn’t won since the Australian Open last year, and she has lost in the first round of her last three championships.

She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, although she is currently ranked 48th heading into this week’s Pan Pacific Open.

“This year has not been the best year for me but I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Osaka said.

“Life is ups and downs, and this year was more down than up, but overall I’m pretty happy with where I am now.”

At the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, which is back after a three-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, Osaka is defending her championship.

After admitting she had “suffered long episodes of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam championship in 2018, Osaka withdrew from the French Open in May 2021. In September of the same year, she declared she would take a break from competitive tennis.

The third round of the Australian Open was Osaka’s highest Grand Slam placing this year after she withdrew from Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury and lost in the first round of the French and US Opens.

She claimed that it took some time for her to adjust to her tumble from the top of tennis.

“It was kind of hard at first, just because I feel like I should be somewhere where I’m obviously currently not,” she said.

“I think for me it’s more about being at peace with myself. I know that I’m here for a reason.”

Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam championship at the US Open in 2018, declared that she was “done trying to fill other people’s shoes.”

“I don’t think you can ever do that because everyone is unique, and we’re all forging our own paths and we’re all on our own journeys,” she said.

Osaka will play Australia’s world number 55 Daria Saville in the first round on Tuesday.

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