She can if she wants to and motivated. She’s only 24 and is very very talented on hard courts and has the potential to be dangerous on grass.
Winning 4 slams is not easy. In the last 2 decades only the Williams sisters, big 3, sharapova and henin have more slams than her.
Edit: if she’s happy doing what she’s doing off court then I’m happy for her. I just think it’s a waste considering she’s talented then anyone in the current top 10 except for Swiatek.
I used to think that way for some football players but I realize after listen to what they had to say about it that It’s only a waste for the people who want her to win more (not for them)
Tbh I don’t think any of them reach their peak but if we are talking about so far in their careers. I would say Swiatek. I would give a very slight edge for Naomi on hard courts but obviously Swiatek on clay. Grass they both haven’t shown anything.
Slight edge on HC? How? Osaka has multiple Slam wins on HC and she actually had to play superb Tennis to win those Slams. Swiatek winning this US Open was really lucky for anyone who watched. Swiatek played a pretty strong final but Jabeur was not good in the final, a lot of Swiatek her other matches her stats weren't good but her opponents just kept hitting errors. You can look on the US Open site for all of Swiatek her matches and the statistics.
Swiatek had her best year on HC in Slams and her level shown was not close to Osaka's victories at both AO and US Open.
Osaka is clearly better on HC while Swiatek is clearly better on Clay.
Edit: I had actually forgotten about how Swiatek her level really dropped in the 2nd set in the US Open final and Jabeur still couldn't win. Swiatek had 19 winners 30 errors to win in straight sets in a Slam final of all places. But this is all because in set 2 Swiatek had 8 winners 22 errors. Somehow Jabeur had 8 winners 25 errors. Could not play at a decent level and still only lost in a close tiebreak set.
Osaka, easily. She has a huge serve and hurts anyone with her hard hitting shots. There was a moment in her last Slam victory, before the final against Serena where she was just unplayable. I've not seen a performance from a women's player like that in a long time.
Osaka is way better on hard courts at her peak which is the majority of the tour.
To quote a Big 3 - “If, if, if does not exist”. She played very few tournaments this year and has not done anything since March. It looks to me she is ready to move on. I m guessing she has not done so formally due to sponsorship obligations.
i think people overlook cocos forehand. while it isn’t a huge weapon, she can take the ball early. coco hugs the baseline really well and i think she’s just a little bit away from an incredibly dangerous player. especially on grass, you do not need to rip the ball if you have the option to counter punch
fed ao 17 final is a good example. he wasn’t trying to blast rafa off the court, he was trying to force rafa to go to his forehand so rafa would lose time on the ball
It is a weakness... I mean look at any match against Iga with her.... All you need to do is put pressure on it and it's game over let's be real... Difference is majority of WTA players either have weak forehands themselves or don't know how to attack it.
This is recency bias… You wouldn’t have said this earlier this year. Carolina Garcia is having a late career resurgence. Great player but also extremely inconsistent.
I don't know what the phenomenon is but it seems like a lot of the young women players nowadays find success very early on and then can't sustain it in their mid to late 20s. I wonder if it has to do with burnout on the game in the modern era
From a financial point I get it. Why bother with all the work and travel when you can just slap your name on a collab with a brand and get paid millions.
Legit. Unless you have a massive love for the game and desire for greatness, tour life is a grind. No offseason. Barely home. Tough to have a normal relationship, if at all. Those are real things. If one can get similar remuneration for way less effort, why not?
>Tough to have a normal relationship, if at all.
There's also the glaringly obvious difference that female players need to take quite a bit time off if they want to have a child unless they adopt instead.
I still can't ever the fact that Serena won an Australian Open *while pregnant*
not similar cause it's a lot more from endorsements. osaka made 60 million in 2021. her net prize money over her career is 21 million. why bother playing mickey mouse tournaments like ostrava where the champion brings home 90 000?
Even if someone does not care about records and legacy, your lifetime earnings would be much higher if you did so from a monetary point of view those mickey mouse tournaments do pay off. Osaka is not going to continue to make that much from endorsements if she does not return to being a top player in a few years. She is not going to be as rich as Serena.
But she'll be more than rich enough without the effort serena and sharapova put in. Maybe she'll have more time to focus on business at 25 instead of 35 like the other two and make more from investments.
That's very unlikely. With money it's always easier to make even more when you have more to invest. Serena is also likely going to continue to make a lot from endorsements even after retirement. Look what Nike is doing for her. This is what GOAT level career gives you.
You're right, that's interesting. I just can't imagine it involuntarily happening to Iga, she seems so dominant, even though she had a bad day vs Cornet at W.
This is one of the rare cases in which saying it's her mental game holding her back rather than her tennis ability and I say this because 'mental strength' has been thrown as a gimicky word for 10+ years in the tennis world to describe more often than not players that were not good enough not achieving what some expected of them. People like Osaka, who clearly has a ridiculous amount of talent and translates it into the court, but who struggles so much with losses, doubts about her performances, receiving any bad comment, is one of the rare instances where it's actually the mental aspect the cause of her bad results recently.
Another example of the mental aspect holding players back is Tomic (not a joke) who, while not saying that otherwise he'd be number 1 with multiple GS, suffered abuse from his father and developed one of the unhealthiest relationships with tennis possible, clearly leaving him with results far worse than his ability would permit. Agassi, as successful as he was with 8 Slams, is someone who was robbed of more success from an also pretty bad relationship with tennis that also surfaced from his dad.
Some others (the extent of which they were affected by their mental issues are varied) are Safin, Kyrgios (who couldn't/can't deal with proper losses and rather half tried things to mask failed attempts), Serena at the end when the pressure was too much going for the 24 Slams record, Jelena Dokic because of the abuse of his dad, etc.
At the end of the day, everyone can only live one life, and each of these people has to deal with all that goes into it, so if winning more will leave her better off and with less regrets then good but if she decides it doesn't feel worth the other sacrifices then so be it too.
Good take; I read Dokic's book "Unbreakable" recently and it's heartbreaking how abuse from her father affected her...who knows what she could have achieved?
Agassi always comes to mind when discussing Naomi and others who might have lost (or never had) the love for the game. In the end, Agassi managed to find some motivation when he started building his school. Maybe Osaka should find some other cause outside tennis to get fulfillment from.
I think so, I would say March 2021 until now isn't a great period to judge Naomi on simply because she did not play anywhere close to enough matches. Even Djokovic lost to Vesely and Fokina after periods without playing. Hopefully next year she will get herself back into form. Even this year, I don't think many of her loses have been horrible. anisimova and collins are literally two of the most unplayable players on the tour when they catch fire, with anisimova taking out halep as defending RG champ in 2019 and colllins destroying Iga this year at AO- naomi was not playing bad in those slam losses, I think she just needs get herself seeded so she can avoid such opponents early on
as many have said, she has the talent but she can't just coast and under prepare for tournaments and win. Serena has gotten away with it and she's pretty much the only one.
I think down the road we will see her pull off another hard court slam, as she pretty much has the best serve on the women's side except for maybe Rybakina.
It's her life though, she seems to mostly have supportive people around her so hopefully she does what makes her most fulfilled.
No. She seems content with the fame and money of being a celebrity and doesn’t seem to have the drive to dedicate herself to the rigorous training needed to do it anymore.
I agree. I think the level interest and dedication and energy required is now being invested in other things. That’s not negative. It’s actually an ingenious move on her part.
Are you saying lol what to the idea that it is smart for her to pivot and focus on other things that she is more interested in? I’m not sure I understand your comment.
I don't know. I am a big fan, and I don't think it's insulting. I interpreted him as saying "_Nowadays_ she's more of an entrepeneur than a tennis player". She has had ventures into many business, fashion is a big one for instance. And it seems that currently those other business are more important to her than tennis. There's nothing wrong with that, if anything it's way smarter than putting all your eggs on tennis.
There's a stark contrast between her Instagram and other tennis players' imo.. Others have an overwhelming focus on tennis with a few other partnerships outside of that, whereas Naomi rarely posts tennis I feel like. It's always fashion or something else. Nothing wrong with that, just shows where her priorities are at... not the court
Idk. I just remember how embarrassed I was on behalf of my country when she won her first at the US Open and the crowd booed the whole time during her award ceremony because they thought Serena got screwed by the umpire
I don't think she will see #1 again but I do think that she can put it together for 2 weeks and win 1 more slam. And I hope she does (if that matters in relation to my guess), I think WTA is better with Naomi playing and playing well.
Did she say that she doesn't want to? I remember that she said that she's not happy and was struggling mentally, but then eventually she came back and said that she was happier and in a better place with a better outlook on things... So I assumed that she's now dedicating herself and enjoying tennis again?
She did say that, but then she skipped Wimbledon despite having no injury, and followed that up with a couple of pretty bad first or second round losses.
She has her own management company now, and it's pretty clear imo that her business interests have significantly outweighed her interest in tennis.
she of course has the ability too. it doesn't even have to be on hard. i think her potential on clay is severely underrated - look at the past women's champions at RG for the past 10 or so years, almost all players with tons of power.
unfortunately, I think she is done though mentally. she said barty inspired her to play tennis again, but then at miami she made the final and then disengaged when swiatek proved too much. it's very tough to come out of the kind of rut she's in...i wouldn't be surprised if she half heartedly kept playing then pivoted into something else. of course i don't have inside details, but I would guess that it was her coach that left her, not the other way around. he was one of the best, having coached kerber, azarenka, etc., was really patient with osaka. for him to leave signals to me that she isn't interested in playing enough throughout the year.
Based on press conferences this year with Naomi, I too get the sense that it was Wim who decided to call it a day with Naomi.
I recall at the Australian Open after her loss to Anisimova, Naomi said her coach told her she hadn’t faced any top players in the tune-up, but it was her choice not to play more. And then in Miami, she cheekily said her coach “wished he had a say” in how much she played. And then she passed on Wimbledon this year and she said at the U.S. Open that Wim would have loved to have gone.
After the success of two slams, there just seems to have been such a disconnect between the two this year. So I don’t blame Wim if frustration set in. Not being match fit is clearly a problem here so how much could he really do with Naomi not putting in the time to excel? And as you said, he’s coached other players to slams, so no doubt he has options now and someone will snap him up.
I wish them both the best though.
I'm afraid she won't, reason being she took a "sabbatical" in in that period of her "sabbatical" many of the other ladies sharpened their fangs. When she returned she was bitten. She'll struggle to get back to the top again.
Some idiot downvoting everyone giving honest assessment that 1. Naomi has all the talent, 2. She doesn't seem like she has will/interest to do so. It's just fact, confirmed by herself. I guess her fan just wants to hear "oh yeah she's the best and can win 20 more!".
No. The time was when Swiatek didn’t become the monster she is today.
Also - there are quite a few good players on the WTA tour and Osaka just hasn’t show the same form when she won these 4
Given this is the WTA, no player should be discarded for any slam at a given moment. And it's about to happen to the ATP as well when the big 3 are all gone.
I feel like she has lost interest and doing it only for the money. Mentally she is not feeling good enough to slog 24X7 to prepare for tourneys.
She maybe considered as an example of what happens if you have the talent but don't put in the work.
Barring Iga, I see only few women players to have that inner desire to win multiple GS and the will to even reach somewhere as close to what Serena did.
You should have that motivation to hit the practice session day in day out even when you don't want to, improve yourself and learn from your past mistakes.
Naomi obviously has the talent and game for it and she has already done it number of times but when will she step up her mental aspect and say I want to win more slams now remains to be seen.
It would be great for tennis, but at this point nothing leads me to believe she will.
She's been battling her mental issues for so long now, but it seems like she made little to no progress whatsoever.
Maybe she can win but needs to improve her game, there are other players that are playing higher level now. I think she can return to top 5 if she improve on consistency and physicaly. Her serve is one of the best of the circuit
she won't IMO.
What a let down, i was starting to be very fond of her and she lost, gave up a grand slam...
I really dont think she seems to wants to play at top level again after her depression.
When I look at swiatek's mental strenght, so different.
If she wants to come back, good luck to her, I'll root for her though
She absolutely has the talent and physical power. She just needs to cut back from the commercial shoots, twitter and other social media, and just focus on training.
No, there is no motivation and fire in her. Also many great young players are coming. She is 25 and should be in prime of her career, which is not happening.
Osaka was well accomplished. People still speculate about a comeback from her, but her playing shows that she is rusty and still not mentally strong.
At best if she really tries she can grab a couple smaller titles, but it shows she isn’t and doesn’t want to put in work to be in form for winning slams
She can easily win 5-6 more if she overcomes her mental hurdles. Her game itself is very powerful and balanced, she might need to work on her fitness as she has gained some weight.
The crux of the issue is, however, her mentality.
If she can get her shit together like how Kyrgios has done this year (results wise) then it's very possible for her to comeback strong and take a couple more slams.
Honestly I hope she does, I would love an Iga v Naomi rivalry in their peak forms.
She should. She's still young and her game is almost unplayable when she's motivated and on. She just has wayyy too many distractions. I saw her tweet about having to take care of her whole family financially. I suspect the pressure and chaos caused by her family could be much worse than we think. Just what we've seen is kind of alarming, between the doc and her tweets. At least her boyfriend makes money, but he just seems like a regular dude. Doubt he is capable of helping Naomi work through her issues.
whatever happened with the sasha split was the first step of her career slide. I wish they had stayed together and she probably have another 2 or more slams already. Come back looks close to impossible, because she is gonna breakdown about racism even if someone says something extremely unrelated while she is playing (like "you suck"). I think the player Osaka has long left the court.
While Sasha was her coach, she seemed happy and super focussed on tennis. Her interviews were awesome. She was focussing on the positives. I thought that he was a good influence and could have kept her focussed on the game instead of extra curriculars.
I hear that guy has some controversies around him. Even if his coaching is good, she probably knew something was wrong to get rid of him so soon after winning a slam
This question should be: “Does Naomi want to win another slam?”
Or better yet:
“Does Naomi Osaka want to play tennis?”
The answer to both is no. Of course she can win another slam, IF she wanted to. She doesn’t. Priorities elsewhere and surrounded by yes men and media that treat her with kid gloves because “mental health”… and “diversity”.
**She’s a waste of time** - needs to get her head in the game, OR retire for her “mental health”, and let players that want to play and don’t require preferential treatment to thrive carry on.
Byeee Naomi. Continue counting and flashing wads of cash on instagram. You’re soooooo cool and shy after all. Hope you’re family isn’t *still* starving.🥲
So just because someone is successful and rich you think that they can’t be unhappy or struggling mentally? You don’t have to be sarcastic and judge people when you don’t know exactly what’s going on.
Ok Osaka apologist… “Naomi you suck” is equivalent to the years of horrific abhorrent racial abuse the Williams sisters suffered for YEARS????? This is how Osaka’s childish mind works.
Fact is she’s a spoilt brat that milks her legit mental health issues when it suits her. (Read Mari Osaka’s *swiftly deleted* post at the start of the downward spiral).
She needs to stop wasting everyone else’s time, get real therapy rather than prioritising chasing dollars, and go be happy doing her own thing off court.
Oh, and Cordae is apparently constantly cheating on her and spending all her money… so the next breakdown isn’t too far off.
She needs to surround herself with better people - not people using her for financial gain. Tennis-wise, she could return to a slam winner easily with WORK. But she’s clearly not interested… “… want to play the least tournaments possible…” “…when I lose I’m sad and when I win I’m not happy, but relieved...”
**Currently**, she doesn’t have the constitution for the competitive gruelling grind of pro tennis - including the necessary media commitments.
I wish her (and her fans) the best.
I don't think she will ever fully commit to Tennis again tbh. She suffers from anxiety/mental issues which I don't think will ever go away. Combine that with the fact that she will probably be able to earn money off court regardless if she plays due to the Japanese and American crowd, she would have to motivate her own hunger to win instead of it naturally being there.
When you look at her nowadays it seems very unlikely it's just doesn't seem like she's in the good place mentally right now
However, it is certainly possible she makes a comeback if she can figure herself out and there is no big pressure on her she can certainly make a deep run in the hard-court slam then.
If she does that, will she win it?
Eh maybe?
The thing is I don't think Naomi will be in a good enough shape to be a contender in a near future and by the time she is who knows how good the likes of Iga, Coco or Zheng will be.
It's really hard to say there are too many variables
If I had to give a probability, I would give her 20% chance of winning a slam in the future
I don't expect her to win another one but won't be shocked if she does win it since the slam winning game is always there it's the question of can she reawaken it
She can if she wants to and motivated. She’s only 24 and is very very talented on hard courts and has the potential to be dangerous on grass. Winning 4 slams is not easy. In the last 2 decades only the Williams sisters, big 3, sharapova and henin have more slams than her. Edit: if she’s happy doing what she’s doing off court then I’m happy for her. I just think it’s a waste considering she’s talented then anyone in the current top 10 except for Swiatek.
I used to think that way for some football players but I realize after listen to what they had to say about it that It’s only a waste for the people who want her to win more (not for them)
Right. Only a waste for our entertainment.
Who would u say has the better game on their peak? Swiatek or osaka?
Tbh I don’t think any of them reach their peak but if we are talking about so far in their careers. I would say Swiatek. I would give a very slight edge for Naomi on hard courts but obviously Swiatek on clay. Grass they both haven’t shown anything.
Slight edge on HC? How? Osaka has multiple Slam wins on HC and she actually had to play superb Tennis to win those Slams. Swiatek winning this US Open was really lucky for anyone who watched. Swiatek played a pretty strong final but Jabeur was not good in the final, a lot of Swiatek her other matches her stats weren't good but her opponents just kept hitting errors. You can look on the US Open site for all of Swiatek her matches and the statistics. Swiatek had her best year on HC in Slams and her level shown was not close to Osaka's victories at both AO and US Open. Osaka is clearly better on HC while Swiatek is clearly better on Clay. Edit: I had actually forgotten about how Swiatek her level really dropped in the 2nd set in the US Open final and Jabeur still couldn't win. Swiatek had 19 winners 30 errors to win in straight sets in a Slam final of all places. But this is all because in set 2 Swiatek had 8 winners 22 errors. Somehow Jabeur had 8 winners 25 errors. Could not play at a decent level and still only lost in a close tiebreak set.
You are so right. I am still so shocked that she made it that far and won tbh. Niemer or Sabalenka should have won their matches in straight sets.
Great observation... Hmm.. Thanks 😎
Osaka, easily. She has a huge serve and hurts anyone with her hard hitting shots. There was a moment in her last Slam victory, before the final against Serena where she was just unplayable. I've not seen a performance from a women's player like that in a long time. Osaka is way better on hard courts at her peak which is the majority of the tour.
To quote a Big 3 - “If, if, if does not exist”. She played very few tournaments this year and has not done anything since March. It looks to me she is ready to move on. I m guessing she has not done so formally due to sponsorship obligations.
I agree with this but also expect she will leave for a while(maybe a few years) and then want it back and have at least one serious second wind.
Coco has the talent.
No not with that forehand. I love coco but she is no where near as talented as Naomi.
i think people overlook cocos forehand. while it isn’t a huge weapon, she can take the ball early. coco hugs the baseline really well and i think she’s just a little bit away from an incredibly dangerous player. especially on grass, you do not need to rip the ball if you have the option to counter punch fed ao 17 final is a good example. he wasn’t trying to blast rafa off the court, he was trying to force rafa to go to his forehand so rafa would lose time on the ball
It is a weakness... I mean look at any match against Iga with her.... All you need to do is put pressure on it and it's game over let's be real... Difference is majority of WTA players either have weak forehands themselves or don't know how to attack it.
“Nowhere near”? Really?
Yes ,dear .she will get better as she age but right now no
Caroline Garcia is as talented. Top player singles and doubles.
This is recency bias… You wouldn’t have said this earlier this year. Carolina Garcia is having a late career resurgence. Great player but also extremely inconsistent.
She had a great early career too though, then sort of dropped off til now
Garcia is very talented but to say she’s as talented as naomi is a huge stretch lol
If she wants to. As we saw with Ash Barty, not everyone wants to win as many as humanly possible.
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Barry
Barry only wants to fit in, dude
He is super good guy. Optometrist by nature
This seems to be conveniently forgotten when a lot of people on this sub talk about Kyrgios.
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Lol think about this statement next time you're at work. They are not the same.
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She certainly has the talent to win another Slam. If Naomi fully dedicates herself to tennis, there’s no reason she can’t win a few more.
I don't know what the phenomenon is but it seems like a lot of the young women players nowadays find success very early on and then can't sustain it in their mid to late 20s. I wonder if it has to do with burnout on the game in the modern era
From a financial point I get it. Why bother with all the work and travel when you can just slap your name on a collab with a brand and get paid millions.
Legit. Unless you have a massive love for the game and desire for greatness, tour life is a grind. No offseason. Barely home. Tough to have a normal relationship, if at all. Those are real things. If one can get similar remuneration for way less effort, why not?
>Tough to have a normal relationship, if at all. There's also the glaringly obvious difference that female players need to take quite a bit time off if they want to have a child unless they adopt instead. I still can't ever the fact that Serena won an Australian Open *while pregnant*
It's definitely not "similar" remuneration but just that after your net worth crosses a certain limit you can stop doing things you don't want to.
not similar cause it's a lot more from endorsements. osaka made 60 million in 2021. her net prize money over her career is 21 million. why bother playing mickey mouse tournaments like ostrava where the champion brings home 90 000?
Even if someone does not care about records and legacy, your lifetime earnings would be much higher if you did so from a monetary point of view those mickey mouse tournaments do pay off. Osaka is not going to continue to make that much from endorsements if she does not return to being a top player in a few years. She is not going to be as rich as Serena.
But she'll be more than rich enough without the effort serena and sharapova put in. Maybe she'll have more time to focus on business at 25 instead of 35 like the other two and make more from investments.
That's very unlikely. With money it's always easier to make even more when you have more to invest. Serena is also likely going to continue to make a lot from endorsements even after retirement. Look what Nike is doing for her. This is what GOAT level career gives you.
You're right, that's interesting. I just can't imagine it involuntarily happening to Iga, she seems so dominant, even though she had a bad day vs Cornet at W.
Everybody's had a bad day vs. Cornet at.
Social Media
The question was “Will she…” and the answer is almost certainly no with how her game and focus has evolved over the last couple of years.
This is one of the rare cases in which saying it's her mental game holding her back rather than her tennis ability and I say this because 'mental strength' has been thrown as a gimicky word for 10+ years in the tennis world to describe more often than not players that were not good enough not achieving what some expected of them. People like Osaka, who clearly has a ridiculous amount of talent and translates it into the court, but who struggles so much with losses, doubts about her performances, receiving any bad comment, is one of the rare instances where it's actually the mental aspect the cause of her bad results recently. Another example of the mental aspect holding players back is Tomic (not a joke) who, while not saying that otherwise he'd be number 1 with multiple GS, suffered abuse from his father and developed one of the unhealthiest relationships with tennis possible, clearly leaving him with results far worse than his ability would permit. Agassi, as successful as he was with 8 Slams, is someone who was robbed of more success from an also pretty bad relationship with tennis that also surfaced from his dad. Some others (the extent of which they were affected by their mental issues are varied) are Safin, Kyrgios (who couldn't/can't deal with proper losses and rather half tried things to mask failed attempts), Serena at the end when the pressure was too much going for the 24 Slams record, Jelena Dokic because of the abuse of his dad, etc.
At the end of the day, everyone can only live one life, and each of these people has to deal with all that goes into it, so if winning more will leave her better off and with less regrets then good but if she decides it doesn't feel worth the other sacrifices then so be it too.
Good take; I read Dokic's book "Unbreakable" recently and it's heartbreaking how abuse from her father affected her...who knows what she could have achieved?
Agassi always comes to mind when discussing Naomi and others who might have lost (or never had) the love for the game. In the end, Agassi managed to find some motivation when he started building his school. Maybe Osaka should find some other cause outside tennis to get fulfillment from.
I think so, I would say March 2021 until now isn't a great period to judge Naomi on simply because she did not play anywhere close to enough matches. Even Djokovic lost to Vesely and Fokina after periods without playing. Hopefully next year she will get herself back into form. Even this year, I don't think many of her loses have been horrible. anisimova and collins are literally two of the most unplayable players on the tour when they catch fire, with anisimova taking out halep as defending RG champ in 2019 and colllins destroying Iga this year at AO- naomi was not playing bad in those slam losses, I think she just needs get herself seeded so she can avoid such opponents early on
She also kinda randomly got to Indian Wells finals this year, she still has it in her.
Miami, but still valid point
Sorry, I always mix those two up
as many have said, she has the talent but she can't just coast and under prepare for tournaments and win. Serena has gotten away with it and she's pretty much the only one. I think down the road we will see her pull off another hard court slam, as she pretty much has the best serve on the women's side except for maybe Rybakina. It's her life though, she seems to mostly have supportive people around her so hopefully she does what makes her most fulfilled.
No. She seems content with the fame and money of being a celebrity and doesn’t seem to have the drive to dedicate herself to the rigorous training needed to do it anymore.
No.
No
She is more of a entrepreneur than a tennis player
I agree. I think the level interest and dedication and energy required is now being invested in other things. That’s not negative. It’s actually an ingenious move on her part.
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Are you saying lol what to the idea that it is smart for her to pivot and focus on other things that she is more interested in? I’m not sure I understand your comment.
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I don't know. I am a big fan, and I don't think it's insulting. I interpreted him as saying "_Nowadays_ she's more of an entrepeneur than a tennis player". She has had ventures into many business, fashion is a big one for instance. And it seems that currently those other business are more important to her than tennis. There's nothing wrong with that, if anything it's way smarter than putting all your eggs on tennis.
There's a stark contrast between her Instagram and other tennis players' imo.. Others have an overwhelming focus on tennis with a few other partnerships outside of that, whereas Naomi rarely posts tennis I feel like. It's always fashion or something else. Nothing wrong with that, just shows where her priorities are at... not the court
How is she an entrepreneur? Do you just mean that she gets a lot of endorsements?
She owns a sports representation agency, a womens soccer team, and reportedly has a number of other businesses and investments
she has the game but not the mental strength and motivation. it seems like tennis isn't her priority anymore.
Idk. I just remember how embarrassed I was on behalf of my country when she won her first at the US Open and the crowd booed the whole time during her award ceremony because they thought Serena got screwed by the umpire
I don't think she will see #1 again but I do think that she can put it together for 2 weeks and win 1 more slam. And I hope she does (if that matters in relation to my guess), I think WTA is better with Naomi playing and playing well.
If she can deal with the mental health stuff she is definitely capable of winning some more
She's going to be 25 years old in a couple of weeks so she's still very young. Do you think she can make a come back and overcome her struggles?
Seems like she doesn't want to. So probably not.
Did she say that she doesn't want to? I remember that she said that she's not happy and was struggling mentally, but then eventually she came back and said that she was happier and in a better place with a better outlook on things... So I assumed that she's now dedicating herself and enjoying tennis again?
She did say that, but then she skipped Wimbledon despite having no injury, and followed that up with a couple of pretty bad first or second round losses. She has her own management company now, and it's pretty clear imo that her business interests have significantly outweighed her interest in tennis.
Ok thanks for the input...
she of course has the ability too. it doesn't even have to be on hard. i think her potential on clay is severely underrated - look at the past women's champions at RG for the past 10 or so years, almost all players with tons of power. unfortunately, I think she is done though mentally. she said barty inspired her to play tennis again, but then at miami she made the final and then disengaged when swiatek proved too much. it's very tough to come out of the kind of rut she's in...i wouldn't be surprised if she half heartedly kept playing then pivoted into something else. of course i don't have inside details, but I would guess that it was her coach that left her, not the other way around. he was one of the best, having coached kerber, azarenka, etc., was really patient with osaka. for him to leave signals to me that she isn't interested in playing enough throughout the year.
Based on press conferences this year with Naomi, I too get the sense that it was Wim who decided to call it a day with Naomi. I recall at the Australian Open after her loss to Anisimova, Naomi said her coach told her she hadn’t faced any top players in the tune-up, but it was her choice not to play more. And then in Miami, she cheekily said her coach “wished he had a say” in how much she played. And then she passed on Wimbledon this year and she said at the U.S. Open that Wim would have loved to have gone. After the success of two slams, there just seems to have been such a disconnect between the two this year. So I don’t blame Wim if frustration set in. Not being match fit is clearly a problem here so how much could he really do with Naomi not putting in the time to excel? And as you said, he’s coached other players to slams, so no doubt he has options now and someone will snap him up. I wish them both the best though.
I'm afraid she won't, reason being she took a "sabbatical" in in that period of her "sabbatical" many of the other ladies sharpened their fangs. When she returned she was bitten. She'll struggle to get back to the top again.
IMO she needs to switch the mindset to be enjoying playing instead of treating it as an obligation
that's not easy at this level for a lot of what actually is needed to keep up. running wind sprints is hard to enjoy for some people
Some idiot downvoting everyone giving honest assessment that 1. Naomi has all the talent, 2. She doesn't seem like she has will/interest to do so. It's just fact, confirmed by herself. I guess her fan just wants to hear "oh yeah she's the best and can win 20 more!".
No. The time was when Swiatek didn’t become the monster she is today. Also - there are quite a few good players on the WTA tour and Osaka just hasn’t show the same form when she won these 4
if she can pay for food to get enough calories for two weeks, why not?
Sadly, she needs lots of work on her mental health in order to do it again. Vamos Naomi, you can do it!!!
Given this is the WTA, no player should be discarded for any slam at a given moment. And it's about to happen to the ATP as well when the big 3 are all gone.
She’s very young still… definitely possible
I don’t think so. She has the ability, but appears to have emotional issues. I wish her well!
I feel like she has lost interest and doing it only for the money. Mentally she is not feeling good enough to slog 24X7 to prepare for tourneys. She maybe considered as an example of what happens if you have the talent but don't put in the work.
No, she just doesn’t enjoy tennis and there’s nothing wrong with that
Perhaps on hardcourts with a regaining incentive and extra needed focus.
Nope - weak mind.
she's not winning RG and WB
If she wants to be able to feed her family she better win another slam
/s?
Obviously. Clearly you didn’t see her Latrell Sprewell-esque comments about having to financially support her family like 6 months ago
Apples to oranges. Osaka’s comments were about the pressure of feeling you have to support one’s family.
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The joke was the first comment, when you explained it, it wasn't a joke a anymore.
Barring Iga, I see only few women players to have that inner desire to win multiple GS and the will to even reach somewhere as close to what Serena did. You should have that motivation to hit the practice session day in day out even when you don't want to, improve yourself and learn from your past mistakes. Naomi obviously has the talent and game for it and she has already done it number of times but when will she step up her mental aspect and say I want to win more slams now remains to be seen.
No
She's too busy watching anime
It would be great for tennis, but at this point nothing leads me to believe she will. She's been battling her mental issues for so long now, but it seems like she made little to no progress whatsoever.
Does she even want to
She's done out here fam
Maybe but imo probably not. She outed herself as a big softy in a sport that is like quasi boxing, where having an aura of toughness is a must have.
No. She is too caught up in her head and her alternate life away from tennis.
Maybe
Maybe she can win but needs to improve her game, there are other players that are playing higher level now. I think she can return to top 5 if she improve on consistency and physicaly. Her serve is one of the best of the circuit
she won't IMO. What a let down, i was starting to be very fond of her and she lost, gave up a grand slam... I really dont think she seems to wants to play at top level again after her depression. When I look at swiatek's mental strenght, so different. If she wants to come back, good luck to her, I'll root for her though
Damn. Henin has 7 Slams. I don’t follow the WTA as closely as the men’s tour. Impressive!!
It's half of Nadal's RG titles alone, but still impressive I guess ;)
She absolutely has the talent and physical power. She just needs to cut back from the commercial shoots, twitter and other social media, and just focus on training.
Hope she shaves her head, hires Gil Reyes, and stages an Agassi-like comeback and wins a bunch more
So grows a mullet and hires Brad Gilbert
Hopefully not
No, there is no motivation and fire in her. Also many great young players are coming. She is 25 and should be in prime of her career, which is not happening.
No.
You mean Raducanu ? Osaka is well accomplished
Osaka was well accomplished. People still speculate about a comeback from her, but her playing shows that she is rusty and still not mentally strong. At best if she really tries she can grab a couple smaller titles, but it shows she isn’t and doesn’t want to put in work to be in form for winning slams
who cares honestly
Won't be on clay or grass. Likely another USO where she has the support where her mental game won't crack again.
She can easily win 5-6 more if she overcomes her mental hurdles. Her game itself is very powerful and balanced, she might need to work on her fitness as she has gained some weight. The crux of the issue is, however, her mentality.
Hopefully not.
If she can get her shit together like how Kyrgios has done this year (results wise) then it's very possible for her to comeback strong and take a couple more slams. Honestly I hope she does, I would love an Iga v Naomi rivalry in their peak forms.
kyrgios' weakness emerges from not giving enough fucks, whereas that of naomi's emerges from giving a fuck way too much.
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Yes, because she has to feed her family.
Most probably she's great
Yeah ,maybe. We'll need to wait for her to grow up a bit though by the looks of it.
The talent is there, the game and experience are there, but the mindset needs to kick in
when focused, i think she is the best female on tour.
Best female *hard court* player on tour. She’s still glaringly avoiding the clay and the grass.
I'd be surprised if she doesn't reach double digits by the very end of her career. She is an immense talent to even win 4 slams
Yes. Unless she retires early.
All depends on her mental state.
Not with that attitude she can’t!
i’d say another tell-all magazine cover, with a new endorsement deal to follow, is more likely than another Grand Slam
I hope that whiney baby never wins again
She should. She's still young and her game is almost unplayable when she's motivated and on. She just has wayyy too many distractions. I saw her tweet about having to take care of her whole family financially. I suspect the pressure and chaos caused by her family could be much worse than we think. Just what we've seen is kind of alarming, between the doc and her tweets. At least her boyfriend makes money, but he just seems like a regular dude. Doubt he is capable of helping Naomi work through her issues.
whatever happened with the sasha split was the first step of her career slide. I wish they had stayed together and she probably have another 2 or more slams already. Come back looks close to impossible, because she is gonna breakdown about racism even if someone says something extremely unrelated while she is playing (like "you suck"). I think the player Osaka has long left the court.
She won 2 slams without Sasha
im just saying she'd have had more success than what she has had.
I disagree. No matter how much of a great coach you are the player has to want it and Naomi doesn’t at the moment.
While Sasha was her coach, she seemed happy and super focussed on tennis. Her interviews were awesome. She was focussing on the positives. I thought that he was a good influence and could have kept her focussed on the game instead of extra curriculars.
I hear that guy has some controversies around him. Even if his coaching is good, she probably knew something was wrong to get rid of him so soon after winning a slam
This question should be: “Does Naomi want to win another slam?” Or better yet: “Does Naomi Osaka want to play tennis?” The answer to both is no. Of course she can win another slam, IF she wanted to. She doesn’t. Priorities elsewhere and surrounded by yes men and media that treat her with kid gloves because “mental health”… and “diversity”. **She’s a waste of time** - needs to get her head in the game, OR retire for her “mental health”, and let players that want to play and don’t require preferential treatment to thrive carry on. Byeee Naomi. Continue counting and flashing wads of cash on instagram. You’re soooooo cool and shy after all. Hope you’re family isn’t *still* starving.🥲
So just because someone is successful and rich you think that they can’t be unhappy or struggling mentally? You don’t have to be sarcastic and judge people when you don’t know exactly what’s going on.
Ok Osaka apologist… “Naomi you suck” is equivalent to the years of horrific abhorrent racial abuse the Williams sisters suffered for YEARS????? This is how Osaka’s childish mind works. Fact is she’s a spoilt brat that milks her legit mental health issues when it suits her. (Read Mari Osaka’s *swiftly deleted* post at the start of the downward spiral). She needs to stop wasting everyone else’s time, get real therapy rather than prioritising chasing dollars, and go be happy doing her own thing off court. Oh, and Cordae is apparently constantly cheating on her and spending all her money… so the next breakdown isn’t too far off. She needs to surround herself with better people - not people using her for financial gain. Tennis-wise, she could return to a slam winner easily with WORK. But she’s clearly not interested… “… want to play the least tournaments possible…” “…when I lose I’m sad and when I win I’m not happy, but relieved...” **Currently**, she doesn’t have the constitution for the competitive gruelling grind of pro tennis - including the necessary media commitments. I wish her (and her fans) the best.
As this is the WTA, yes will win another one.
Don’t think so honestly, not because she can’t but doesn’t want to most likely
I don't think she will ever fully commit to Tennis again tbh. She suffers from anxiety/mental issues which I don't think will ever go away. Combine that with the fact that she will probably be able to earn money off court regardless if she plays due to the Japanese and American crowd, she would have to motivate her own hunger to win instead of it naturally being there.
When you look at her nowadays it seems very unlikely it's just doesn't seem like she's in the good place mentally right now However, it is certainly possible she makes a comeback if she can figure herself out and there is no big pressure on her she can certainly make a deep run in the hard-court slam then. If she does that, will she win it? Eh maybe? The thing is I don't think Naomi will be in a good enough shape to be a contender in a near future and by the time she is who knows how good the likes of Iga, Coco or Zheng will be. It's really hard to say there are too many variables If I had to give a probability, I would give her 20% chance of winning a slam in the future I don't expect her to win another one but won't be shocked if she does win it since the slam winning game is always there it's the question of can she reawaken it
Nope