Naomi Osaka shared advice to a new mom as the former world No. 1 admitted to "struggling tremendously" at the start of her motherhood journey, but also noted that enjoying simple and relaxing things helped her navigate through it.
After silently withdrawing from the 2023 Australian Open and even sparking retirement rumors, Osaka took to social media in January 2023 to announce that she was pregnant. In July of that year, the four-time Grand Slam champion welcomed her first child, a baby girl Shai. The Japanese tennis star officially launched her post-pregnancy comeback at the start of the 2024 season.
During the weekend, the current world No. 16 decided to host a little Q&A session with her fans. And one of her followers - who recently became a parent - wanted some advice in that area.
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Osaka: Enjoy your new role... Soon your baby is going to be talking back to you with sass
"I'm a new mom and struggling with this role/identity shift. What helped you get through?" the question read.
The 28-year-old answered: "I'm not going to lie to you I also struggled tremendously, your life changes overnight. I think for me I journaled a lot to keep track of how I felt, I was also lucky because I could play tennis and being on the court was a place of comfort for me. I would suggest you make time to do things that make you happy and also enjoy your new role because I promise you the time is going to go so quick and before you know it, your baby is going to be talking back to you with sass."
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Before her pregnancy, Osaka started losing motivation and passion for tennis. That changed with Shai's arrival as the Japanese tennis player stated several times that her daughter provided the motivation she needed and that she wanted to win another Grand Slam for Shai.
