"I can do anything and nothing will bother me": Naomi Osaka returns to tennis after childbirth with new outlook on life and opinions of others

Former world number one Japan’s Naomi Osaka has stated that she now has a new outlook on life after becoming a mother.

The 26-year-old has recently returned to the court after a gap of more than one year and appeared in the recently concluded Brisbane International. Osak was recently quoted in a report ahead of the Australian Open 2024 where she stated that she now has a new outlook on life after becoming a mother.

“I feel so strong,” she said. “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 anymore.”

“It’s weird because I’ve lived most of my life, I guess, listening to my parents or always feeling the pressure of wanting to make them proud or make other people proud. And I don’t know when it happened, but I just started wanting to do things for myself. It’s a growing-up moment.

“Even from last year to this year, I feel like a completely different person. Just finding my voice and knowing what I want to stand for, and knowing the things that are important to me is something that I’ve had to learn throughout the years.”