"I kind of have been dealing with some health stuff" - Under the weather Osaka not 100% on court in lacklustre defeat in United Cup

Naomi Osaka was nowhere near her very best in a disappointing 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Maria Sakkari in the first day of United Cup action. After the defeat, she let sip that she had been felling unwell and was not 100% for the matchup.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was making her debut in the United Cup for Japan, who were in an open group with Greece and Great Britain. She will face British number one Emma Raducanu on January 4, but first up was a tie against the former world number three Sakkari.

The Greek tennis player had gone through her own struggles in recent times on the court, nowhere near her best levels she had shown between 2021 and 2023. However, she still proved to be too good for her opponent, winning five of the last six games to blitz the two-time Australian Open champion and send Greece on the pathway to victory, handing them a huge advantage in Group E.

After the lacklustre performance, the former world number one gave some insight on her recent struggles, stating that it is not serious but enough to make her level drop when stepping onto the court.

“I mean, honestly from my end, it's tough to say like I don't care because I do care," she said. "I kind of have been dealing with some health stuff, so I'm kind of just happy to be out here right now. It's not like serious, but yeah. I was pretty happy with the level of playing that I played at right now, so whatever.”

It had come at a really bad time for the Japanese number one, who was looking back to her best. “I mean, I'm not operating at the per cent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks because, like, I had a really good off-season so I thought I was going to do really well here," she acknowledged. "Then I got really sick. I think I'm at the tail end of that, but still not amazing."

She is not the only one to be under the weather, with Maya Joint a doubt for Australia's opening match against Norway due to illness. This has not been a short term thing, with it cropping up around Christmas. She is hoping to to be up and running for the Australian Open, beginning January 18. “So yeah, I feel like for me, I'm just trying to get better every day. Obviously I had a cough, like a runny nose, like all that nasty stuff, yeah. Hopefully it goes away before the Australian Open. Honestly, it's been a minute, which is why I'm shocked that I still have it. I think I got it from my daughter. I want to say [I got sick] like before Christmas Eve.”  

While the first major tournament of the year is still a couple of weeks away, the United Cup dream could come crashing down after a trio of defeats on the opening day. After Osaka succumbed to defeat, two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas comfortably disposed of Shintaro Mochizuki before he and Sakkari teamed up to win 6-2, 6-3 in the mixed doubles clash against Yasutaka Uchiyama and Nao Hibino, triumphing 3-0.

While it is frustrating for Japan, Osaka is glad to be in a team environment. “I mean, it's been tough. Also for me, that's why I also really appreciate being here because you feel the team atmosphere, it makes you want to go out and do your best and do something," she stated. "I feel very apologetic that I couldn't get the win. I don't know, we're all here to try our best. If it doesn't work out, it sucks, but we're going to just try again another day.”

There was also a serving issue throughout, with Osaka not blaming it on the sick bug. “Yeah, I definitely wouldn't blame that on being sick. I was just really nervous so my hand was shaking a little bit. That's definitely from my end that comes the first match of the year or if I have a long break or something so…”