By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday August 12, 2024
United Airlines lost Naomi Osaka’s bags over the weekend, and the four-time major champion was worried that she would miss out on playing in Cincinnati without her tennis gear. She got her gear hours later, but still missed out on the main draw as the 95th-ranked Japanese star lost to American Ashlyn Krueger in the final round of qualifying on Monday at Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
It was Osaka’s first appearance in qualifying since 2018, and she did win her first match (over Anna Blinkova in straight sets on Sunday) but the former World No.1 fell in one hour and 38 minutes on Center Court on Monday, dropping the final five games to the 20-year-old World No.64 after holding a 3-1 lead in the deciding set.
Afterwards, the Japanese megastar took to social media to speak about her feeling. She said she has, at times, felt a disconnect while playing this year on the WTA Tour.
“My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body," she wrote. "It’s a strange feeling missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to.”
Osaka vows to continue pushing to take her game higher, and cites her baby daugher Shai as a constant source of inspiration.
“I know life isn't guaranteed so I want to do the best that I can with the time that I have, I want to teach my daughter that she can achieve so many things with hard work and perseverance," she wrote. "I want her to aim for the stars and never think her dreams are too big. Nothing in life is promised but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and give it my best shot till the very end.”
It hasn't been all bad for the former Grand Slam juggernaut in her comeback from maternity leave this season.
Osaka has climbed in the rankings from outside the top 800 to No.90 in eight months’ time, winning 17 of 32 matches on tour this season. She is 0-3 vs the Top 10 but 5-6 overall against the Top-20.
Last week in Toronto, after losing in the second round to Elise Mertens, Osaka spoke of her hopes of returning to the Top-10.
“I think going through this process and having really tough losses that I've learned a lot about myself and I learned that I really love this game and am willing to do whatever it takes to get to where I feel like I deserve to be. I know there's going to be a lot more tough losses, but hopefully, yeah, hopefully I'll be back in the top 10.”
26-year-old Osaka will hope to get into the US Open, where she is a two-time champion, via wild card. She is currently an alternate on the main draw entry list, which means she may have to play qualifying if a wild card isn’t forthcoming. That said, it likely will be, given how much Osaka has meant to the tournament, and to women’s tennis in general.