Naomi Osaka: "Even if I play the No. 1 seed, I expect myself to win... I kind of like my delusions, they're cool"

Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka recently gave tennis fans an inside look into her mentality in matches against top players.

The Japanese star has had a tough start to her 2024 WTA tour season, having dropped two of her three matches thus far. The 26-year-old's last outing came at the Australian Open, where she lost to the 16th-seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets in the first round.

While many players would find the comeback trail to the top echelons of the sport daunting, Naomi Osaka has shown a certain optimism towards the process. Neither her recent defeats nor her rankings slump has affected her robust mentality, going by her comments ahead of the 2024 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.

Speaking to the famous tennis journalist Reem Abulleil, the four-time Major winner claimed that she always has such high expectations from herself ahead of a big match that it can border on delusional.

"I’m the type of person that, even if I play the No. 1 seed, I want myself to win and I kind of expect myself to win, which is the delusion part," Naomi Osaka said. "But I try not to make too many excuses."

Osaka added that every tennis player worth their salt would have such high levels of conviction in their abilities. She also inferred that she has no qualms with her so-called "delusions", deeming them necessary in order to win big.

"I feel like in some capacity, everyone who has achieved something crazy has been called crazy along the way," she added. "For me, also just being a more creative person, you have to see things differently and you have to dream big to achieve those dreams. I kind of like my delusions, they’re cool.”

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"Naomi Osaka wants to get back to World No. 1, she wants to win Grand Slams" - Performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger

Naomi Osaka poses with the 2020 US Open trophy

Naomi Osaka's long-time performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger also spoke highly of his ward's mentality last November. The German had claimed that the 26-year-old intends to get back to the top position in the WTA rankings and add a few more Major titles to her tally.

"She’s super motivated and I’m super pumped to help her. She inspires the whole team with this champion mindset: she just wants to go for it..." Zitzelsberger said to Tennis Channel in 2023. "Where she is today is what makes working with her so inspiring. She wants to get back to world No. 1, she wants to win Grand Slams."

Osaka is currently ranked at a lowly 757 in the women's singles rankings, meaning she required a wildcard to enter the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi. The Japanese will take on the dangerous Danielle Collins in a blockbuster first-round clash.

If she manages to navigate past the American, she would then face No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina in the second round - giving her an opportunity to put her big-match playing ability to the test.