Naomi Osaka has always been open about her journey, but her recent Instagram post reveals a deeper truth about where she stands in her tennis career. The four-time Grand Slam champion shared a powerful message she learned through a conversation with her dad.
What Did Naomi Osaka’s Father Tell Her About Her Career?
In her Instagram post, Osaka wrote about a conversation with her father that changed how she thinks about her career. At 59 years old, her father told her about feeling “closer to the end of his life than the beginning” and how this made him want to “enjoy and treasure the years he has left.” This conversation made Osaka realize something important about her own tennis journey.
She wrote: “He told me he finds this interesting because he thinks my tennis career is potentially similar. When we first had this conversation I stared at him blankly, I didn’t really understand what he was trying to say to me and truthfully the topic made me panic. After a couple days a realization suddenly hit me.”
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, playing professionally since I was 14 and I’m 27 now. I’ve lived almost my entire life playing this sport and I guess it’s true, I am closer to the end than the beginning,” Osaka continued.
She shared a touching memory about her childhood dream to hold the US Open trophy and wrote: “When I was younger my dream was to hold the US Open trophy, winning it seemed like a fairy tale so I just wanted the chance to hold it and look inside because my mom had told me a story about there being fairy dust at the bottom of the trophy.
“Miraculously, I have 2 of those trophies now. That means I doubled my wildest dreams and yet somehow I let my expectations of myself and the expectations of others prevent me from enjoying the rest of my journey no matter how long or short it may be.”
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The post revealed how expectations have weighed heavily on her, preventing her from enjoying her journey. Osaka has been playing professionally for 13 years since turning pro at age 14 in 2013.
How Has Osaka Performed Since Her Return to Tennis?
Osaka has won seven WTA Tour singles titles, including four Grand Slam championships: two US Open titles (2018, 2020) and two Australian Open titles (2019, 2021). She became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title and was ranked World No. 1 for 25 weeks starting in January 2019.
Osaka has been dealing with depression since the 2018 US Open, leading to her withdrawal from the French Open in 2021 and subsequent breaks from tennis. She took maternity leave in 2023 after giving birth to her daughter Shai, returning to competition in 2024.
Currently, she is ranked 53rd in the world and has struggled to find consistency since her comeback. She won her first title since 2021 at the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo in May 2025, her first-ever victory on clay. However, she has faced early exits at major tournaments: a third-round retirement at the 2025 Australian Open, a first-round loss at the 2025 French Open, and another third-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the 2025 Wimbledon.
Despite these struggles, Osaka is determined to find her way back to the top and has been working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, showing flashes of her former brilliance. Her recent Instagram post suggests she is more focused on enjoying the journey rather than just achieving results. As she wrote, she wants to “be at peace traveling and seeing my daughter reap the fruits of my labor.”
The 27-year-old’s perspective shift comes at a time when many tennis players are extending their careers well into their 30s. Serena Williams played until 40, while Venus Williams continues competing at 45. Osaka’s new mindset could help her rediscover the joy that made her one of tennis’s biggest stars.
