Naomi Osaka (L) and Aryna Sabalenka
Naomi Osaka recently talked about the positive changes she has observed in reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Osaka returned to action in January 2024 after a pregnancy and postpartum break that lasted for more than a year and three months. She participated in the Brisbane International 2024, to begin with, and later competed at the Australian Open.
Osaka played her last match before the break in September 2022. At the time, Sabalenka’s Grand Slam tally stood at zero. Now, however, the Belarusian has scored two consecutive triumphs at the Melbourne Major.
Osaka recently sat for an interview with The National, during which she noted that Aryna Sabalenka has now established an upbeat aura around herself. Adding that the 25-year-old is apparently more relaxed and smiles more often these days, the Japanese said:
“The biggest difference that I’ve seen since coming back on tour, granted I have my headphones off now, it’s just she has a different energy around her, I see her smiling more. So that’s really nice and it’s really just cool to see.”
She further claimed that the Belarusian has always been that player whom the opponents fear. She said:
“I’ve always felt like she was a player that people didn’t really want to play. And that’s something that’s very powerful.”
According to Osaka, Sabalenka’s breakthrough has not been unexpected. On this, she expressed:
“I’m not really surprised by any of this. I feel like there’s players that people talk about and when you see them achieve their potential, it’s not surprising. It’s just kind of more of a ‘time can only tell’ moment.”
Naomi Osaka crashes out of Abu Dhabi Open 2024 with R1 loss to Danielle Collins
Naomi Osaka has struggled to find her feet on her comeback, facing second and first-round exits from the Brisbane International and Australian Open, respectively.
She made a winning start in Brisbane by defeating Tamara Korpatsch in the opener. However, she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the very next match. She then flew to Melbourne for the Australian Open but returned empty-handed as Caroline Garcia thumped her 6-4, 7-6(2) in the first round.
Most recently, Naomi Osaka crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Open after losing to Danielle Collins in the opener. She created six opportunities on Collins’ serve but failed to convert any. On the other hand, Collins broke her four times and dished out a bagel to earn a 7-5, 6-0 win.
Osaka, however, remains alive in Abu Dhabi as she is scheduled to pair up with Ons Jabeur to take on the Chinese pair of Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu in doubles.
