In a recent appearance on The Late Show, the 25-year-old Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka opened up about her journey so far and how she’s decided to approach mental health issues with caution rather than panic. Naomi has stated that she will not come back to playing until her issues are addressed and resolved: “I was always taught how to resist or how to work through it and I think it is a very valuable lesson because it has helped me overcome many things in my life.”
Then she continued ” If I feel this way, why should I continue to push myself further, when I can face it and solve it, before going back to facing the journey.” Then she addresses the theme of the Olympics where the Japanese player last year early stop beaten in the round of 16 by the modest Czech Vondrosuova.
The defeat threw Osaka into despondency, she couldn’t handle the pressure, but nevertheless she was inundated with encouraging words. “At the Olympics, there were so many athletes who came to me and I was so surprised and honoured.
I felt really grateful and I felt really supported,” she concluded.
Naomi Osaka and mental health
Naomi is recognized by insiders and not as one of the most talented tennis players on the world tennis scene. The Japanese has won 4 Slams, 2 Australian Open and 2 Us Open, but for years she has been living with serious off-court problems that don’t allow her to play with serenity and be competitive.
The champion, who plummeted to 41st in the WTA Rankings, was last seen in action in September, at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she withdrew from her second-round match in front of her home crowd due to abdominal pain.
The former world number 1 has been battling anxiety and depression for some time. She had to withdraw from several tournaments because of this. In recent years, however, she has never lacked support from the public and colleagues in the sport for having had the courage to bring to light a topic still considered by many to be taboo.
Osaka has given several interviews discussing her struggle with mental health issues, stating that she believes it is completely normal for people to be weak and may suffer from mental difficulties.
