Ex-No. 1 Naomi Osaka weighs tennis clay-court season, motherhood ‘dilemma’
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Japan's Naomi Osaka hitting a backhand during her 7-5, 6-4 Miami Open loss to Australian Talia Gibson at the Hard Rock Stadium at Miami Gardens on March 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MIAMI – Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka said she is considering how best to balance her tennis schedule with motherhood after a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Australia’s Talia Gibson in her opening match at the Miami Open on March 21.
She returned to the tour in 2024 after a 15-month break following the birth of her daughter and reached the 2025 US Open semi-finals. She withdrew ahead of her scheduled third-round match at the Australian Open in January due to an abdominal injury.
The four-time Grand Slam champion lost to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells last 16 in March before another early exit at the hands of Gibson.
Asked about her plans for the clay season, the 28-year-old said she is weighing the demands of the tour with the time she wants to spend at home.
“I feel like this also is a dilemma for me,” she told reporters.
“For me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mum. I want to be the best mum I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult.
“Because for me, I want to win titles and I want to be the best player I can, but if I have to sacrifice having a lot of time with my daughter, I’d rather not do it.
“I’m not going to play Charleston. I hope I can play Madrid, Rome and then, obviously, the French Open.”
Fourth-seeded Coco Gauff led the way into the women’s fourth round, roaring back for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over fellow American Alycia Parks to set up a last-16 tie with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
Meanwhile, men’s world No. 2 Jannik Sinner made a smooth start on March 21.
Six days after he lifted the Indian Wells trophy, Sinner launched his pursuit of tennis’ “Sunshine Double” in confident style with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over 76th-ranked Damir Dzumhur.
“First-round matches are never easy,” said the 24-year-old Italian, who won the 2024 Miami crown.
After beating Daniil Medvedev for his first Indian Wells title, Sinner is trying to become the first to sweep the Indian Wells and Miami ATP Masters 1000 titles since Roger Federer in 2017. He will next face Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the last 16.
He pocketed the first set against Dzumhur in 34 minutes and broke the Bosnian for a 2-1 lead in the second set before breaking again on match point with a backhand winner.
“Starting off with a break straight away, I tried to be a bit aggressive,” said Sinner, who dropped just eight points on his serve. “At times it worked very well, at times I made couple of unforced errors. But I didn’t have a lot of time to adjust here. It’s very different than in Indian Wells.” REUTERS
