US OPEN

August 31, 2022

Naomi Osaka

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/N. Osaka

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you feel about the match? Seemed very high quality at times.

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, I kind of thought that I played a bit too defensively. I didn't really trust my forehand that much, and I think that maybe you could see that a little bit.

I also felt like I was on my back foot a lot. So, yeah, overall I wouldn't say that I played very well, but I tried the hardest with what I could do.

Q. How do you compare this exit to other early exits you've had in terms of what your mindset is moving forward?

NAOMI OSAKA: I'm not really sure. I feel like I lost in the first round of France, too, so... This year hasn't really been a great year.

But, hmm... I think it was just special to play on Ashe. I think a lot of players would die for that opportunity. For the tournament to let me still play on that even though I'm unseeded, I'm very thankful, so...

Q. In terms of looking ahead, it's right after the match I know, but your plan is to play a full schedule through the hard courts? Do you want to shut it down?

NAOMI OSAKA: I'm not really sure. I'm more of like a winging-it type of person. I'm not really a person that has a full set plan. I think I'll just take it day by day.

Q. I saw after the handshake you took a photo.

NAOMI OSAKA: Uh-huh.

Q. Was it of the court?

NAOMI OSAKA: It was just the court, just because it looked cool.

Q. What made you want to take a picture?

NAOMI OSAKA: Just to, like, remembering it.

Q. It seemed like both you and Danielle seemed to know you were coming into a match where you were going to have to have second-week form on opening night. How hard is that?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, it was pretty hard for me (smiling).

Q. What can you possibly do to prepare for it?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, for me, honestly I just wanted to play without, like, my back being in pain 'cause it's kind of been bad for, like, the entire hard court season since Toronto.

I didn't serve until, like, two days ago, so I was really happy with how my serve went. I don't know. I just feel like these are one of the things that you don't plan for it, it just happened. Like, I didn't know that I was going to play her until a few days ago because I opened Twitter on accident (smiling).

But, yeah, I mean, I think this is what makes you great, like being able to win matches like this even if it's in the first round.

Q. You've had some tough first rounds. Are you at all motivated to get your ranking up so maybe you can build into matches?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, my head is still like everywhere but what you're asking me. I'm not really sure right now.

Q. In terms of looking back on this season, not just the slams, you mentioned your back, how much of this season has been impacted for you with respect to injuries?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, I only played Australia and, like, clay court and then this season.

I mean, I feel like everyone deals with injuries. I would say for me, it's been more prominent this year. But I think it's something that I can learn. Like I learned a lot more about my body, I learned what's weak, what I can do to prevent it.

I would say the sport is definitely very physical, but it's kind of my job to stay on top of it.

Q. On scheduling, Japan, is that something you would like to play? When you said your head is everywhere now, what thoughts are you having now?

NAOMI OSAKA: You're like an investigator, huh (smiling)?

I mean, I would love to play Japan. Olympics, there was no crowd, which was really sad. I would love to have the opportunity to play in front of people in Japan. I have a pretty good track record there, so it would be nice.

When I said my head is everywhere, I just mean, like, I'm the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Sometimes when I play matches, I have to tell myself to, like, stop thinking, just go more on instinct, yeah.

I don't know. I feel like I just have to chill a little bit because there's a lot of like random chaos in my head right now.

(Naomi's answers to questions in Japanese.)

NAOMI OSAKA: I would say now like what's different from before, I'm not really sure. I feel like if I knew that, I would be able to change it and fix something.

I can't really answer that question right now. Maybe later.

Honestly, I did try to work more on my fitness this trip. We were kind of sidelined again. I was actually pleasantly surprised by my movement this round or this match, because I thought it was way better than Cincinnati. I thought there was an improvement there.

Honestly, like, the main goal was just to have fun. I don't know. I think that was kind of accomplished. Of course, it's more fun to win more rounds. We're just, I don't know, kind of winging it.

I think for me, when I think about having fun, it's like I don't feel restrained. Lately I felt really restrained. I'm not really sure why. I'm beginning to feel like I can't hit the shots that I know I can, like especially on my forehand. I don't know if it's a matter of practicing more or something like that. I just don't have the same feeling. So maybe I need to watch like Alcaraz or someone that's really good at hitting forehands.

I would just say being able to be confident in my shots is what makes it's fun for me.

I mean, I thought she was really aggressive on my second serve, so I had to change it up a little bit. She still was able to be quite aggressive, so I thought that was really good on her.

I also felt like her plan was to immediately put me in defense, so she would have hit the ball no matter what type of ball I hit on her side of the court.

I thought she did that pretty well. I think that's kind of what she's known for, to be extremely aggressive. For me, I feel like there's a lot of things I could have done better, but I think I could have returned a lot better.