Naomi Osaka has reflected on how motherhood has changed her perspective on tennis and the world as she prepares to make her return to the Australian Open, a tournament she has won twice.
The four-time grand slam champion announced her pregnancy before last year’s Australian Open and stepped away from tennis. She gave birth to her daughter, Shai, in July and returned to the tour earlier this month at the Brisbane International.
In an interview with Glamour published on Wednesday, Osaka called for the introduction of paid parental leave in the US, where she grew up.
“When I heard the stats, I was really shocked,” Osaka said of the US, which is one of the few countries in the world not to have a national paid parental leave policy. “I’m lucky enough to not have to go straight into work, but I really needed that time to process everything that’s happened and, of course, get to know my baby.
One in four women in the US return to work within two weeks of giving birth and 73% of Americans don’t receive paid parental leave from their workplace. “To see that there are so many women that don’t have that choice and they have to immediately go straight to work is really sad,” said Osaka.
Osaka has been open about her struggles with the pressures of life on the professional tour but said becoming a mother has helped her mental health.
“I feel so strong,” she says. “People talk about childbirth, but it’s different once you experience it. I just feel like I can do anything and nothing will bother me, and the pain tolerance has definitely increased a lot from that. I just don’t really care about other people’s opinions any more.”
The 26-year-old won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 and said that approaching the tournament as a mother would help her.
“It seems so far apart from being a mom when I walk on the court. I’ve been playing tennis since I was three, so that’s something that is as normal as breathing for me. But at the same time: I often worry about if I’m a good mom, but at the end of the day, I realize Shai is my daughter,” she said. “There’s nothing I could do or I want to do that’s going to change that, and I just want to be a good role model for her and I want her to be proud of me.”
