AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 10, 2025

Naomi Osaka

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Naomi, your thoughts on being back here in Melbourne.

NAOMI OSAKA: Thoughts on being back in Melbourne? For me it's probably the place that I hold - I mean, here and New York - the best memories of my career. And Tokyo.

Yeah, I'm just really happy to be back. I came here from Auckland. It was a little rainy, so it's good to be in the sun.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I read that you had an MRI scan after Auckland. Would you be happy to share the results of that and what your shape is after that injury coming into this tournament?

NAOMI OSAKA: Well, I'm normally a really honest person, but I probably won't answer your question honestly (smiling).

But, I mean, the MRI, it wasn't fantastic but it wasn't bad at the same time. So saying all that, I'm pretty optimistic about playing my match. I mean, for sure I'm going to play my match.

Yeah, I've been practicing pretty well for the two days that I've been here, so... Seems to be going good.

Q. I want to ask about your déjà vu first round here against Garcia. What was your thought when you saw that? I feel like you've gotten to know her better over the last year. Talk about seeing her again and what's changed between you two in the last year.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I asked Stuart, and I thought he was joking when he said that.

I don't know. I feel like we haven't played in a couple of months, so maybe it was to be expected, too (smiling). Yeah, I would say my relationship with her, it's definitely grown a lot. I can't say, like, we're BFFs. I really respect her a lot. I feel the same energy coming from her.

I also like the fact that we were born on the same day, so we have the same birthdays. I can't ever have bad blood with a fellow Libra.

Q. I was wondering what your mindset was like going into the first Grand Slam of the year, how you're feeling going into it at a place that you've done so well in the past.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I think my mindset now is probably the most clear it's been in a very long time. Obviously I did pretty well in Auckland. Like, I know I lost, debatably lost in the final. In my head I kind of won it. For me, that's definitely a new career stat because I've only ever been to the semis in tournaments before this one.

I'm really excited to play here. I'm also excited to be here with Patrick because we technically haven't lost yet. So yeah, it's going to be a good run I think.

Q. How do you compare where you were a year ago when you were showing up here, coming out of the maternity leave, and how things have changed in the last year, how your brain is in a different place now? How do you compare those two sort of mental exercises?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I would say when I came here last year, it was kind of like hopes and dreams. Me sitting here is like reality, which it's funny because I do have the same hopes and dreams, but it's more like understanding how much hard work it takes to, I guess, come to this point.

Very transparently, for me I feel like the tennis was kind of always there in a way. It was just the belief of feeling like I can string together victories if the conditions were bad or if I thought I wasn't playing as well as I could have.

I feel like I've learned that throughout the course of 2024 and I guess Auckland as well. Yeah, I would say I am a little bit of a different person now, hopefully (smiling).

Q. What are the kind of rituals you have for eating and drinking and fueling? Do you have a set menu that you always have or do you change it up?

NAOMI OSAKA: Sorry, I'm just laughing at a thought, not your question (laughter).

I am a little bit of a superstitious person, so I do kind of have rituals that I like to I guess keep in order. I also - knock on wood - would hate to get food poisoning from switching it up.

I typically do eat the same thing before every match, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Q. What would that be?

NAOMI OSAKA: I haven't eaten breakfast here yet, but I assume it would consist of smoked salmon, because that's what I always do, smoked salmon and eggs. Before a match I always eat rice and chicken. Then dinner? Dinner is the wild card (smiling).

Q. I'd like to ask about Nakamura who started working with Raducanu. Can you share some of your memories of working with him and what you think it is about him that makes him so good at what he does?

NAOMI OSAKA: You're going to hate to ask me this question. I'm not going to give you anything (smiling).

What I remember about Yutaka, he's great at his job. He's super funny. He loves to take selfies. He loves sushi. She's going to be at every sushi restaurant in town (smiling).

Yeah, he's just an overall really kind person. That's something that I remember about him a lot. He's just very kind, very empathetic. He's just lovely.

You're welcome for this very detailed answer (laughter).

Q. I know when you lost that final, in quotes, in Auckland, it was very upsetting at the time. How much of a big deal is it for you to win a first title since you came back to the tour? I don't know how you define success these days, whether that really matters to you.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, in that moment it was devastating. I felt like it was basically I could touch it. It just sucked because I felt like my body wasn't keeping up with what my mind wanted it to do. Obviously I was very concerned about my chances playing here.

I felt like the best decision was to pull out, even though I didn't really want to. But yeah, it's also, in my mind at that moment, like an accumulation of losing in first rounds in 2024, wanting and hoping to eventually get to a final. Obviously when I did, I couldn't play anymore.

Yeah, I'm kind of strangely over it now. Like 30 minutes after that happened, I was over it because I felt like I'm playing really well. I can only just keep continuing and hopefully I'll get to another final.

Q. I wanted to ask about the process of physical training postpartum. Obviously most kind of expertise and research on elite athletic training sort of is centered on default male bodies. I wonder if you have sorted out anyone with specific expertise on female bodies postpartum and how that affects elite-level athletic physical training?

NAOMI OSAKA: I feel like my answer might get me in trouble. I feel like I just trust the people around me so much. I feel like their knowledge is something that I treasure a lot. I just kind of run with what they think is best. That was kind of my whole postpartum plan.

I'm so sorry. You asked a great question, and I did not give you a great chance at all.

Yeah, I mean, after giving birth, it was definitely really tough to even run. I do understand why people think -- well, I do understand why it's very difficult to, I guess, get to a professional level, especially after postpartum.

For me, I've also been doing sports since I was, like, three, so it's a little bit natural. But yeah, I'm not the greatest person to ask.

Q. I don't know how much expertise is even out there.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah. I feel like there is no guidebook. You kind of just go off what your body says. Everyone's body is different, so...

For me, I felt like I could withstand a lot more training than probably, I don't want to say an average person, but a nonsports person.

(Naomi's answers to questions in Japanese.)

NAOMI OSAKA: So the offseason I did in L.A. I would say since pulling out of Beijing, my match against Coco, I have been doing on-and-off physical training.

I went to Tokyo after that to I guess show my daughter around. I brought Flo with me, so we were training that entire time. So however many months from Tokyo to I guess Auckland was the amount of time I've been training.

The majority of it was in L.A. I actually practiced at UCLA for most of the time. I got, like, eight parking tickets, so... I love that for me.

Yeah, I think definitely last year was a little unusual for me just because I also made a commitment to myself to play as many tournaments as I could. That was really fun because I could see places that I haven't seen in a very long time or experience new tournaments.

I think this year I'm making it a priority to obviously play less than last year, but I want to do better in each tournament. It's not like I'm going into my schedule, like, marking tournaments off or anything. It's sort of a more wing it as I go, and I hope that I do really well at this tournament so I can kind of start my schedule off in a more, I would say, consistent manner.

Yeah, I do remember talking to Caroline on her podcast. I do know that we had pretty good conversations. She's also talked about her mental health, as well. So it's that Libra connection once again (smiling).

Yeah, I feel honestly like most tennis players probably feel the same things. We just express it in different ways, or we just go about it in different ways. Yeah, that's kind of my answer to that.

Oh, my God. Is there a translator? I am so sorry. When I'm tired, I can't translate in my head. I'm so sorry.

Q. (In English.) Every day, basically what are you doing in terms of protecting your mental health?

NAOMI OSAKA: Okay. So sorry.

What am I doing every day? I meditate. Sometimes I listen to I guess water noises, like rain or ocean or forest noises. I also like to write in my notebook a lot just to keep track of my thoughts.