Naomi Osakaformer world number one and Grand Slam champion, joined in the conversation Nick Kyrgios about her goals, her mental health and how it felt for the first time Serena and Venus Williams to defeat.
by Johanna Brauer
last edited: April 24, 2024, 10:54 a.m
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Osaka has already won the Grand Slam four times and has become the first Japanese number one in the world. She broke records at a young age and secured a place in the history books. And as Osaka explained to her tennis colleague and friend Nick Kyrgios in his vodcast “Good Trouble”, that’s exactly what would motivate the former world number one. “I want to make history. I don’t want my name to be erased. I want me to be remembered at least in a small way,” Osaka said.
The 26-year-old’s mental health was also an issue. Kyrgios spoke about how impressed he was with the way Osaka looked after her mental health, while also admitting that in the past he was too afraid to take this time off from tennis to rejuvenate himself mentally: “If I had managed my mental health a little better, I might have had more success.”
Osaka on her win against the Williams sisters: “I was a little sad”
Osaka also spoke about her admiration for the Williams sisters, who were great role models for the Japanese. That’s why she admitted that she was almost sad when she won against Serena and Venus Williams for the first time. “I dreamed about this moment so many times that it felt like I was watching myself on TV, finally experiencing it in reality. I was a little beside myself, but also a little sad. I was sad for them and I’m sure they were sad to lose to me because I was a nobody at that moment,” Osaka admitted.
Osaka opens today in the first round of the WTA Masters tournament in Madrid and faces unseeded Greet Minnen from Belgium.
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Osaka Naomi Williams Serena Kyrgios Nick Williams Venus
2024-04-24 09:28:00
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