Naomi Osaka says she might have hinted at retirement at times but admits that she was never "close at all" to calling it a career.
When Osaka first opened up about her mental health issues at the 2021 French Open, she appeared in only three tournaments in the rest of the year. In the next year and a half, the Japanese's level evidently dropped and she appeared to be losing her joy and passion for the game. That's the first time when some started fearing that she might retire at a young age.
After giving birth and returning to tennis with major goals, Osaka didn't hide her disappointment after certain results in 2024 but also this year. However, recently she turned the corner after finishing as runner-up at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and now making the US Open quarterfinal after impressively beating Coco Gauff 6-3 6-2.
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Osaka: Honestly, i wasn't close at all to retiring
In her post-match presser after beating Gauff, a reporter brought up that the Japanese appeared to hint at retirement in some of her past interviews when things were tough. And he asked the four-time Grand Slam champion how close she was to really walking away from pro tennis.
Honestly, not close at all. I don't know if that means I like pain or something. It's one thing to say it, but to actually do it, to hang up my racquet for me permanently would be a very scary thing," the 27-year-old responded.
In what will be her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open, Osaka will take on Karolina Muchova for a spot in the US Open semifinal.
