Naomi Osaka upbeat despite Australian Open exit: "There's a voice in my head: 'Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning?'"

Naomi Osaka crashed out of Australian Open 2024 with a 4-6, 6-7(2) loss to Caroline Garcia in the opening round on Monday, January 15.

Osaka suffered an early setback in the opening set as Garcia converted a break point in the fifth game to take the lead. Garcia maintained that advantage to secure the set in the 10th game.

The second set lasted longer as Osaka offered some spirited resistance. Things remained on level terms until 12 games, but Garcia peaked at the right time and took the tiebreak easily to enter the second round.

Despite the loss on Monday, Osaka was realistic about her performance while facing the media in the post-match press conference.

"I have to tell myself, 'Hey, like six months ago you were pregnant', stuff like that. Of course, like, there's a voice in my head that is, 'Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches'," she said.

The 26-year-old further reflected on playing someone like Caroline Garcia, who is known for her serving ability.

"I don't know. I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyways. So I guess just being nicer to myself is like a key thing that I learned in my time away. But it is really tough to I guess play a good server and not make too many returns," Osaka added.

This was Naomi Osaka's second loss in three matches since her comeback at Brisbane International. Having won against Tamara Korpatsch in her first match after the pregnancy break, Osaka was beaten by Karolina Pliskova in the Round of 32 in Brisbane.

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Naomi Osaka feels her opponents "serve faster" and "hit harder" than she anticipates

Naomi Osaka

During the press conference at the 2024 Australian Open, Naomi Osaka talked about preparing for her opponents with assistance from coach Wim Fissette.

Osaka was quoted as saying:

"Wim always shows me his PowerPoint presentations about the opponent. When I get on the court, they serve faster or they hit harder and stuff."

The former World No. 1 then suggested that the reason behind her opponents going the extra mile might be her prowess on the tennis court.

"I kind of feel like they might have to. You know what I mean? I always expect that. I don't know. It's a little frustrating sometimes," she added.