Tennis
Naomi Osaka Calls Tennis Her ‘Side Hustle’ Ahead of Her 10th U.S. Open Appearance
Naomi Osaka is competing in her 10th U.S. Open in New York this week, but she revealed that being an elite athlete isn’t the most important part of her life.
“I think people forget my main job is to be a mom,” the No. 13 seed player, 28, said in a Saturday, August 29, press conference, per the U.S. Open, adding that tennis “is kind of like my side hustle a little bit. I just happen to be really good at it.”
The two-time US Open champion welcomed daughter Shai, 3, with her ex-boyfriend, rapper Cordae, in 2023, during a two-year hiatus from competition. She announced her split with Cordae after seven years together earlier this year in a since-deleted Instagram Story, per People.
“These few months away from the sport [have] really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to,” she wrote on Instagram in January 2023, per ESPN. “I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, every day is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘That’s my mom.’ Haha.”
Osaka, who has also won the Australian Open twice, returned to the court in 2024. “I have multiple identities. My return to the sport is a love letter for moms,” the Japanese-American player said in last year’s Tubi documentary, Naomi Osaka: The Second Set, in which she admitted that she had considered retiring after giving birth. “Some people say she ended my career, but for me, it feels like she started my career.”
Her daughter is also learning the game. Though she hasn’t taken the “real court” just yet, Osaka told the press that Shai “loves swinging her little mini racket around.”
“I feel like [tennis] teaches you a lot,” the two-time Olympian added. “I think there’s a lot of characteristics that I have that I like that I know I gained through the sport, and I think sports in general is really good for kids. It teaches discipline and all those other things.”
Osaka defeated Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova in two sets in her first-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on August 31, per the U.S. Open.
