Naomi Osaka has acknowledged Carlos Alcaraz as a player who has assisted her in rediscovering her passion for the game during her time away from the game.
Before experiencing anxiety issues that prevented her from enjoying the thrill of victory, Osaka was regarded as one of the best players on the WTA Tour and had won four major titles.
After taking a break from tennis for almost a year to raise a family, she is now returning to the game in Australia and claims to be regaining her passion for it. She credits her return to tennis as the reason for this, citing Alcaraz as an inspiration.
When asked if her love for tennis has returned after her break from the game, Osaka responded: “Definitely. I’m not going to sit here and say that I’ve never loved tennis. Of course, I loved it. I think after a certain point, I just felt more relieved to win. It was a little hard dealing with that. Instead of being happy to win, I felt more relief. I think for me, just having this time away watching other players and appreciating them a lot [helped a lot].”
She further said: “I remember watching Wimbledon, watching Alcaraz go to the court and practice drop shots because I’m going to play like drop shots as he does. I guess in a way, being a kid again, being inspired by other players, wanting to play on the big courts.”
Naomi Osaka says watching players like Carlos Alcaraz helped her find love for the game again
“Do you feel like you've found that love for the game?”
Naomi: “Oh, yeah.”
“Do you feel having the time away you've allowed yourself to fall back in love with it or find the love for… pic.twitter.com/MSze3ZIhzf
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 31, 2023
"I think this is a second chapter. My goals are very big this year."@naomiosaka makes her return tonight at @BrisbaneTennis International, taking on No. 84 Tamara Korpatsch. pic.twitter.com/paNx8oFmz3
— wta (@WTA) December 31, 2023
Naomi Osaka in 2023
LWLWLWLLWL Ranked no.661, Osaka played her last match on the 20th of September 2022 when she had to retire when playing against world no.204 Daria Gavrilova in the 1st round and the scoreline was 1-0 .
Presently, during this year Naomi has managed to achieve a composed 14-9 record.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
LWLLWWWWWW Now the world no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 18th of November when he capitulated to world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This season Carlos has managed to achieve a composed 65-12 match record. Alcaraz clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. Carlos was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Alcaraz has scheduled to play next at the Australian Open (Australian Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.
