“I felt really ashamed of my body... Seeing other mom’s shrink” - Naomi Osaka opens up on her struggles with 'body changes' after giving birth to Shai

Naomi Osaka recently opened up about her personal journey of grappling with the physical changes she experienced after giving birth to her daughter, Shai . Osaka gave birth to her daughter on July 2023.

Osaka had announced her pregnancy in January 2023 after withdrawing from the Australian Open. She did not play any other tournament last year and made her return to the court this year, at the 2024 Brisbane International, where she reached the second round before being defeated by Karolina Pliskova.

The former World No.1's best performances this season was reaching the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open and the Libema Open. Osaka last competed at the China Open where she reached the fourth round before withdrawing from the tournament due to a lower back injury.

The 27-year-old recently took to social media and candidly discussed the challenges she faced while adjusting to her postpartum body. She admitted feeling self-conscious about her appearance, particularly when donning the form-fitting tennis attire required for her matches

“Honestly I don’t really know what to caption this post. I wanted to say “body changes throughout the year” but it actually means a lot more to me than that. There were moments this year where I felt really ashamed of my body, (for example when I had to wear form fitting tennis clothes lol),” Naomi Osaka wrote.

The four-time Grand Slam champion confessed to struggling with comparisons to other mothers who “seemingly” regained their pre-pregnancy figures. She revealed that she dedicated time to workouts in the gym in an effort to shed the pregnancy weight, however, found herself discouraged by the slow progress.

“I was also constantly struggling with this overwhelming urge to “snapback”, seeing other mom’s seemingly shrink immediately after having their baby was an expectation I began to put on myself. That self comparison always hurt because I felt as an athlete I should be losing weight quicker than most, I was in the gym everyday so that thought didn’t feel too unrealistic,” she added.

Naomi Osaka expressed that she now has a newfound appreciation for her body and that she is slowly learning to “embrace” it

“Most weeks would feel similar to the previous week and the weight didn’t disappear overnight so it was a bit disheartening. To get to the point I’m at now was definitely a journey, an adventure I know that I’m still embracing. All bodies are different and I appreciate mine for how it is,” Naomi Osaka continued.

The former World No.1 said that she is very “grateful and thankful” for her body's resilience and strength.

“My body has done so much for me and adapted so well to the tasks that I’m asking from it, I’m extremely grateful and thankful. While typing this I realized that if I had to title this post it would be super long and go like- “thank you body for the journey over the past year, I’m excited to learn more about what you’re capable of in the years to come ❤️ ” haha,” she added.

Naomi Osaka on motherhood: “I just feel like I don't have time to waste”

Naomi Osaka talking to the press [Source: Getty]

Earlier this year, Naomi Osaka made an appearance on Nick Kyrgios' video podcast series, "Good Troubles with Nick Kyrgios," which is produced by her media production company, Hana Kuma. There she spoke about the lifestyle changes she has had to make since giving birth to her daughter, Shai.

Osaka expressed that since Shai's birth, she has felt like she has no time to waste and the need to be more "efficient" with her time.

The four-time Grand Slam champion admitted that in the past, she would sometimes "waste" time during practice sessions . However, now she understands the importance of being disciplined with her time, knowing that Shai is waiting for her at home.

“So far, I just feel like I don't have time to waste. I'm trying to be really efficient with everything. When I was younger, I could hit for three hours and waste time in the middle or whatever but now I know that someone's waiting for me at home and I have to take care of her so I just feel like every second counts," Naomi Osaka said [10:49].

Naomi Osaka was scheduled to next compete at the 2024 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, but had to withdraw from the tournaments due to the lower back injury she sustained at the China Open, thus effectively concluding her season.