It’s secure to say that Naomi Osaka is fairly excited in regards to the North American hard-court swing as the previous world No. 1 funnily remarked that she felt like “Sailor Moon” as quickly as her toes touched her favourite floor.
After vowing to play extra on clay and grass this yr and having loaded schedules throughout these two swings, Osaka is about to play in Toronto in what might be her first hard-court match since March.
And through a pre-tournament press convention in Toronto, the four-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t making an attempt to cover how she feels about this a part of the yr. For context, Sailor Moon is a magical woman/super-heroine from a Japanese animated sequence.
“As quickly as my foot touched the arduous court docket, I felt like Sailor Moon, simply remodeling,” Osaka stated in Toronto.
There’s simply one thing about stepping out on a tough court docket for @naomiosaka 🤩
Quote of the day courtesy of 👉 Fantino & Mondello pic.twitter.com/2w8vE6cuLJ
— Nationwide Financial institution Open (@NBOtoronto) August 5, 2024
Earlier than her maternity go away, Osaka gained seven titles and all of her titles got here on arduous courts – most notably, she has two Australian Open and two US Open titles.
Osaka reveals how her child daughter impacted modified her perspective
After the grass season, Osaka went to the Paris Olympics hoping to win her first medal there. However Osaka’s hopes had been rapidly squashed after she was crushed by Angelique Kerber on the clay courts of Roland Garros within the first spherical.
In Toronto, Osaka acknowledged that she was upset in regards to the early Olympics loss earlier than explaining why overcoming such losses is less complicated now than it was prior to now.
“Effectively, I’d say after I was youthful I outlined success by profitable tournaments, profitable matches. I outlined my value so much by like whether or not I gained or misplaced and now I’d say for instance I misplaced within the Olympics I used to be after all actually devastated however I don’t know I used to be simply surrounded by my group after which I went again house and I noticed my daughter and I don’t know she’s simply glad to be alive. She’s glad that I’m her mother for some purpose and it simply gave me so much I suppose motivation,” Osaka defined.
In the meantime, Osaka performs Ons Jabeur within the Toronto first spherical.
