Naomi Osaka hints at being part of a group chat with fellow WTA moms after booking spot in third round of Rome Open

Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka secured her ticket to the third round at the Rome Open, and the former World No.1 is slowly rediscovering her form after having her first child in 2023.

The two-time Australian Open champion was slated to face Paula Badosa in the second round, but the Spaniard was forced to withdraw prior to the match due to injury. Osaka would face lucky loser Viktorija Golubic instead, recording a hard-fought three set win to advance to the third round.

The 27-year old is one of several WTA athletes on Tour who are also mothers, joining the likes of Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic and Victoria Azarenka. The four-time Grand Slam champion has received a lot of public support from her fellow mothers but stopped short of admitting to being a member of a moms only group chat.

“Like uh I don't know how to answer your question because... probably,” said Osaka with a wry smile. "But I also am not the one that speaks a lot, like I only talk if someone asks me a question- that's kind of how I operate and I have really bad social skills.
“So, like there probably is a mom's group chat but I just don't talk a lot and I don't know if that's my answer to your question. But also, I find that I talk to more people now than I do before so I'm hoping that my skills in that aspect level up as well."

Osaka won her first title in four years last week at the WTA 125 clay court event in Saint Malo, and will hope to capitalize on her momentum as she progresses further in Rome.