Naomi Osaka’s quest for her third US Open title ended in the fourth round after a decisive loss to Elena Rybakina, who is chasing the world No. 1 ranking. However, Osaka explained that she was not devastated about exiting the New York Major, shedding light on her mindset involving her daughter, Shai, and her family.
What Naomi Osaka Said After Her US Open Loss to Elena Rybakina
Although Osaka pulled off gritty wins over Anastasia Zakharova, Kateřina Siniaková, and Elise Mertens during her US Open campaign, she struggled to mount a similar challenge against Rybakina in their blockbuster fourth-round clash.
The Kazakhstani star dominated the encounter to claim a 6-1, 6-4 victory and advance to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career. Speaking at her post-match press conference, Osaka revealed that she had been physically compromised by a leg injury during the match.
Nevertheless, the former world No. 1 felt a “strange” lack of sadness or disappointment over her loss.
“I think there’s always something. That’s a way that I can have fun and sort of just excite myself also. But I’m honestly not disappointed now. It’s a very strange feeling. And last year I wasn’t that disappointed either. Amanda just played really insane. Maybe I’m just getting older, but I don’t feel sad,” Osaka said.
Osaka welcomed the shift in her mindset regarding defeats, explaining that she chose to focus on the positives in her life involving her daughter, Shai, and her family, instead of dwelling on what went wrong on the court.
“I think I’m happy I’m taking losses differently. I’m trying to learn from them a lot more. Today if I was to say I’m sad, I was sad that I couldn’t push off on my foot. I’m sad I couldn’t do what I set out to do. But for me if I think about my life, my daughter is healthy. Everyone in my family is great. I had an opportunity to play this Slam. I got as far as I could. It’s only up from here I guess,” she added.
Despite not winning a Grand Slam title since the 2021 Australian Open, the 28-year-old also emphasized that she had no regrets about her career.
“Someone asked me this question the other day. I said like it feels long and short because my break time, I had a kid, so there’s a lot that happened in that time,” she said. “And I think also like if I reflect on my career and the things that I’ve been able to do, like there’s nothing that I regret or there’s nothing that I’m sad about.”
Osaka further pointed out that winning a fifth Major title would not fundamentally change her life, which is a stark contrast to how she felt when she first became a Grand Slam champion at the 2018 US Open.
“And also like I thought about it and if I win another Grand Slam, it’s not going to change my life. And that’s kind of crazy that I can say that because I remember the first Slam that I won, it was like a huge whirlwind. But yeah, I think it wouldn’t feel as long,” she added.
Following her win over Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina will lock horns with Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals of the US Open. Although Rybakina holds a 4-1 lead in their head-to-head record, she can expect a tough challenge from Zheng, who is producing a stellar run in New York, with back-to-back upsets over Madison Keys and Iga Świątek.
