Naomi Osaka’s latest appearance in Wimbledon that fell short of the fourth round didn’t make her want to reminisce on her latest stretch.
When asked about positives from the last few weeks following her loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday, Osaka apologized for not having anything positive to say.
“I’m just gonna be a negative human being [Friday],” Osaka said. “I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on. It was my daughter’s birthday, so I was happy about that this week. Other than that, today, I’m just constantly replaying the match now.”
Osaka took the first set, 6-3, but dropped the final two against Pavlyuchenkova — including the final two games of the deciding third set — to get eliminated.
She defeated Talia Gibson and Katerina Siniakova in the first and second rounds, respectively, but despite advancing to the Round of 32 for the first time since consecutive appearances in 2017 and 2018, Osaka couldn’t capitalize.
Osaka, who lost in the first round of the French Open in May and revealed multiple blisters on her hand following the defeat, secured her first title in nearly four years earlier that month with a victory at L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo in France.
It marked her first championship since the Australian Open in 2021, and after her win in the final, Osaka posted a job application on social media for “everyone that constantly has s–t to say.”
“Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst,” Osaka wrote in a separate social media post following her title. “That’s one of my favorite things about life though, there’s always room to grow and evolve. Thanks to everyone accompanying me on this journey, I know it’s turbulent but it’s also really fun and I’m grateful.”
Osaka, who rose to No. 1 in the women’s tennis rankings in 2019, stepped away from tennis for 15 months for mental health reasons and for maternity leave before returning in 2024.
She made her return to the U.S. Open — a tournament she won in 2018 and 2020 — last year and advanced with a victory in her first match, though she fell in the second round.
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