Naomi Osaka is serving up a heartfelt reflection on her career.
Days after the tennis player, 27, told reporters she had “nothing positive to say” about herself following her third-round loss at Wimbledon, she shared a message looking back at all she’s achieved throughout her career so far.
“Recently I had a talk with my dad,” Naomi wrote in the July 7 Instagram Post. “It wasn’t a short talk but during that conversation something he said really stuck with me.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion noted how his reflection on his life made her look at her tennis career in a new light.
“He had told me how at 59 years old he feels closer to the end of his life than the beginning and its made him want to enjoy and treasure the years he has left,” she wrote. “He told me he finds this interesting because he thinks my tennis career is potentially similar.”
Naomi, mom to 2-year-old daughter Shai with ex Cordae, continued, “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.”
Namely, what it means to be 13 years into her professional career.
“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,” she shared. “I am closer to the end than the beginning.”
That’s why, for the tennis star, it’s important to focus on the positives.
“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,” Naomi, who won the US Open in 2018 and 2020, said. “Miraculously, I have 2 of those trophies now. That means I doubled my wildest dreams.”
Admitting she’s previously had trouble focusing on her achievements rather than her downfalls, she’s making it her goal not to take that approach anymore.
“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,” she continued. “Writing this to make a promise with myself to enjoy the times and be at peace traveling and seeing my daughter reap the fruits of my labor.”
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