Naomi Osaka on raising baby daughter Shai: “When I was younger, I could waste time but now I know that someone’s waiting for me at home”

Naomi Osaka has opened up about the changes that the birth of her baby daughter Shai has brought to her professional and personal lives.

Osaka and her rapper boyfriend Cordae welcomed Shai in July 2023. The tennis sensation was notably on a break from on-court action since September 2022 and she extended it till December 2023 to complete the postpartum recovery.

She returned to the tour in January 2024 and since then she has managed eight wins in 15 appearances in singles.

Osaka recently sat down with Nick Kyrgios for a candid conversation in an episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast. Kyrgios, who himself has been away from professional duties for nearly 10 months, asked Osaka whether motherhood has changed her perspective on tennis as a professional.

In reply, the four-time Grand Slam champion admitted to feeling occupied with the thought of getting back home to Shai as soon as possible, particularly after a practice session whereas in her younger days, she could kill time while training.

"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 (at 15:00).

She also admitted to relating to her mother Tamaki now more than ever.

"I talk to my mom a lot and I appreciate her way more now that I'm a mom and I'm going through the feelings that she was going through like a mom's job is never over," she added.

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"Sunday is my day off, I honestly play Playstation" - Naomi Osaka on decompressing after motherly and tennis duties

Naomi Osaka

During the same episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, Naomi Osaka told Nick Kyrgios that she decompresses on Sundays and her stress buster is Playstation.

"Sunday is my day off, I honestly play Playstation. I like Overwatch, Apex, sometimes I’ll play Fortnite, I really like Skyrim," she said (at 15:35).

As far as her on-court commitments are concerned, Naomi Osaka faced a disappointing result on Wednesday, April 17, as she lost to Italy's Martina Trevisan in the opening round of the Open de Rouen in France.

Trevisan produced a spirited effort as she saved seven break points and, in turn, broke the Japanese four times to secure a 6-4, 6-2 win over Osaka in an hour and 33 minutes.