Naomi Osaka Confirms She’s Returning To Professional Tennis In 2024: “I Really Love My Daughter A Lot, But I Think It Really Fueled A Fire In Me”

Naomi Osaka takes a lesson from Beyonce’s handbook and is getting back to business after giving birth to her baby girl!

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old sat down for an interview with ESPN and confirmed that she will return to professional tennis in 2024.

“It’s definitely way more tournaments than I used to play,” Osaka said. “So, I think some people will be happy with that. “I think it’s because I realized that I don’t know how the beginning of the year is going to go for me. I don’t know the level of play and I think I have to ease into it. So at the very least, I’m going to set myself up for a very good end of the year.”

Having not competed since the Toray Pan Pacific Open in September 2022, Osaka previously announced her intention to make a comeback to tennis at the 2024 Australian Open, an event she’s won twice before. Additionally, Osaka said that her hiatus from tennis made her long for the sport.

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“I’ve been watching matches and I’m like, ‘I wish I was playing too,’” Osaka added. “But I’m in this position now and I’m very grateful. I really love my daughter a lot, but I think it really fueled a fire in me.”

Osaka temporarily stepped away from professional tennis and made numerous well-publicized revelations regarding her mental health challenges. This came in the wake of a notable incident in 2021 when she appeared visibly stressed and emotional while addressing the media during a mandatory press conference at Roland Garros. Following her withdrawal from the French Open that year, she openly shared that she had been grappling with “suffered long bouts of depression” since her initial major championship victory in 2018.