PARIS – Naomi Osaka is back at Roland Garros, a place that marked such a significant moment in her life — a moment of vulnerability, yes, and, in a way, of triumph, even if not in a traditional, "What was the score?" sense.
Osaka spent time away from tennis in recent years, first for mental health breaks, then because she became a mother. At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, she was supposed to be one of the big stars in her native Japan and lit the cauldron, but the results on the court were not what she wanted.
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Now she has returned to the tour and is returning to the Summer Games. She'll be in action against three-time major champion Angelique Kerber when tennis matches begin Saturday at the same site that marked such a pivotal place in Osaka's career: It was at the 2021 French Open, contested on the clay courts used for these Olympics, that she first mentioned her anxiety and depression — topics rarely addressed publicly at the time by sports stars or, frankly, anyone in any walk of life — and withdrew from the tournament.
“I felt nervous, kind of scared" at the 2022 French Open, Osaka said. “And a little sad, because I always feel, like, in moments like this, I'm not sure if people are judging me for that moment.”
But then, she explained, "I kind of realized that people’s memories are very short. And I hope that when they look at me, that’s not the first thing they think about. So it’s probably my mind constantly going over those memories and thinking the worst. I’m kind of approaching it with my best foot forward. And I feel like a different person, so hopefully those experiences will never be relived.”
Four Grand Slam titles and much more
Still just 26, Osaka has accomplished so much.
She reached No. 1 in the tennis rankings. She won four Grand Slam titles. She became the world's highest-paid female athlete.
Osaka founded, with her agent, Stuart Duguid, an athlete management agency and a production company. She drew attention to racial injustice and police brutality by wearing masks with victims' names on them during the 2020 U.S. Open. She helped make mental health a subject of discourse and something sports leagues paid more attention to. She's now a mom.
“She has a much, much, much, much different perspective about life, which has made her more relaxed with her tennis. You can see it with the way she’s playing. She’s playing quite freely and with a smile on her face, sometimes," Duguid said.
“She’s changed a lot as a person, I would say — definitely for the better. And in comparison to Tokyo, it’s a double-edged sword, because on one hand, it was probably the best experience of her professional life, lighting that torch," he added. "However, the pressure that she was under in that particular tournament was probably the most pressure she’s played under. And I don’t think she enjoyed it from that perspective.”
Still — or, perhaps, that is why — Osaka is eager to compete again for Japan, where she was born (her mother is Japanese; her father is Haitian; the family moved to the United States when Naomi was 3).
“The Olympics are kind of the highlight of sports, in a way,” she said. “It always felt like a celebration of all athletes and of all sports. Everyone just seems to have a lot of fun.”
There is some irony in that statement.
Tokyo Olympics were not a lot of fun for Osaka
The last Summer Games were not all that fun for Osaka, at least not on the court, where she felt a certain burden and lost in the third round.
Much of that year was not all that fun for her, either: There was the exit from the French Open, the decision to skip Wimbledon entirely and an extended hiatus before the Olympics, then another break after her U.S. Open title defense ended in the third round.
Yet she was at the forefront of a movement of sorts, one that helped others feel validated.
“It’s nothing unusual; we’ve all lived through that sort of thing. Some people deal with it better than others,” said Flavia Pennetta, who won the 2015 U.S. Open and was a two-time Olympian for Italy. “She was smart to talk about it. She broke a wall.”
Osaka's revelations about anxiety and depression resonated
More and more athletes — and folks in other fields, too — began to realize it was, first and foremost, fine to have the kinds of thoughts Osaka revealed, fine to let others know about them, fine to take a break.
Amanda Anisimova, a semifinalist as a teenager at the 2019 French Open, announced last year she needed to take time off because of burnout.
“Maybe 20 years ago, that wouldn’t have really been OK. Or maybe an agent would say, ‘No, say that it’s an injury.’ ... Being truthful and honest about what you’re going through just takes some weight off your shoulders,” Anisimova said. “Naomi being very open — I really respect her for that and appreciate her. In a way, that made it easier for me, as well.”
And it's not just athletes at the professional level.
Osaka, Simone Biles and other stars willing to be vulnerable set an example.
“High school athletes are taking mental breaks, self-help days, self-care days. I hear high schoolers talking about it, college athletes talking about it. It is so necessary. The impact is so critical, because you can’t be your best self if you’re not your whole self. You can’t have a great mind if your body is lacking as an athlete and as a person and otherwise,” said Ketra Armstrong, a professor of sport management and director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in Sport at the University of Michigan. “They’re showing the need to protect the wholeness of who they are — their mind, their body and their soul.” ___
AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames contributed to this report.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games