"Hard to watch everyone competing while I was sitting out"- Naomi Osaka admits being upset about missing Australian Open due to pregnancy

Naomi Osaka has confessed about feeling unsettled after missing out on the 2023 Australian Open due to pregnancy.

Osaka recently gave birth to her baby daughter, Shia, in Los Angeles with rapper and longtime boyfriend Cordae.

Following her daughter's birth, Osaka sat down with Vogue for an exclusive interview and talked about her experiences while dealing with pregnancy. She also opened up about the mental challenges she faced during her absence from the WTA Tour.

The four-time Grand Slam champion said that she was upset after being unable to participate at the Australian Open for the first time in her career. She has won the Melbourne Major twice - in 2019 and 2021.

"I remember following the Australian Open a little bit earlier this year, and it made me upset because I’ve never missed an Australian Open," said Osaka.

The former World No. 1 also spoke about how she avoided the downsides of missing out on professional tennis and focused on what was ahead. She also stated that she preferred "not to watch tennis at all" to prevent her absence from taking a toll on her sanity.

"It was kind of hard to cope with those feelings of wanting to be there really badly. I wouldn’t trade this for the world, but it was just hard to watch everyone competing over there [while I was] sitting out," she added.

Osaka has been on a sabbatical from professional tennis since she announced her pregnancy in January. The Japanese tennis star was earlier on a five-month break following mental health issues and a devastating 1R loss in the 2022 US Open.

---

Naomi Osaka hints at tennis comeback

Naomi Osaka at the 2022 US Open

Although it has been merely days since the 25-year-old gave birth to her daughter, Shia, Naomi Osaka has already hinted at a comeback to tennis.

In a recent Instagram post, the Japanese star shared a partial picture of her daughter in an adorable onesie embroidered with miniature tennis rackets. Furthermore, she also revealed her plans of getting back to her former tennis schedule now that she is free from her pregnancy.

"Well that was a cool little intermission, now back to your regularly scheduled program," she captioned the post.

Naomi Osaka has not yet confirmed exactly when she will resume touring the WTA circuit. However, the former World No. 1 earlier stated that she will take 2023 for her post-pregnancy recovery and make a comeback at the 2024 Australian Open.