Japan”s Naomi Osaka [Photo/Agencies]
PARIS－Naomi Osaka returns to Roland Garros wanting to banish the reminiscences of her withdrawal 12 months in the past, however hampered by considerations over her clay-court type and fitness.
The former world No 1 pulled out of final yr’s French Open forward of the second spherical, citing mental well being points.
She had been threatened with expulsion and fined by organizers over her refusal to attend media conferences.
Osaka then spent massive elements of the rest of the 2021 season off the court docket and has struggled this marketing campaign with damage.
The Japanese star withdrew from final week’s Italian Open to relaxation an Achilles downside and check out to regain full fitness for the Grand Slam match in Paris, the place she might be unseeded at a serious for the primary time because the 2018 Australian Open.
The 24-year-old has slipped to thirty eighth on this planet rankings going into Sunday’s begin of the French Open, however was as little as No 78 in March.
Osaka confirmed she might nonetheless compete for the most important titles the next week, reaching the Miami Open last－her first on the WTA Tour because the 2021 Australian Open－earlier than dropping to Poland’s world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
“Only a few days in the past I used to be celebrating getting again into the highest 50 however I do not take issues like that with no consideration,” the four-time Grand Slam champion stated after that defeat.
“I’m a bit extra humble now in regards to the alternatives I get. I can take quite a lot of positives from this.”
Osaka will fancy her probabilities of a deep run at Roland Garros for the primary time in a wide-open ladies’s draw, apart from red-hot favourite Swiatek who’s on a 28-match successful streak.
But she has lots nonetheless to show on clay, having by no means reached a WTA Tour last on the floor and even made the second week of the French Open.
Osaka’s preparations this time round have been removed from supreme, and he or she has performed solely two matches on the purple filth this season.
She was visibly fighting the Achilles damage within the second of these in opposition to unheralded Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in Madrid, dropping 6-3, 6-1.
“I really feel like I could not play the best way that I wished to play, like I used to be restricted,” Osaka stated.
When she withdrew from Roland Garros final yr, Osaka stated she had been affected by “bouts of melancholy” since her breakthrough US Open overcome Serena Williams within the controversial 2018 last.
Osaka stated she discovered media conferences akin to “kicking folks once they’re down”.
She later skipped Wimbledon earlier than returning on the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
Her choice to quickly step away from the game prompted a rise in elite athletes being extra open about their mental well being.
Four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles missed a part of the Tokyo Games to focus on her well-being, whereas English cricketer Ben Stokes additionally took a break due to mental well being issues.
‘Very content material’
Osaka, the world’s highest-paid sportswoman with a $57 million revenue final yr in accordance to Forbes, now believes she is extra content material each on and off the court docket.
“At this stage in my life I really feel very content material in my mental well being journey. I really feel snug in who I’m and the place I’ve come from,” she instructed Self journal earlier this month.
“My major aim used to be successful. Lately I’ve tried to ask myself questions like, ‘Will this make you content?'”
Osaka’s sporting focus might be firmly on the following two months and making a critical dent within the French Open and Wimbledon attracts for the primary time, with the added bonus of a possible rise again up the rankings.
AFP
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