Naomi Osaka Returns, Ready or Not
The New York Times
After a tumultuous year and a four-month layoff during which she questioned what she wanted from tennis, Osaka is back on the court. “I’m not sure if this is going to work out well.”
On Dec. 31, as the final hours of 2021 ticked away, Naomi Osaka wrote on Twitter: “I’ve never been more excited for a year to be over.”
Osaka, who had not played a competitive tennis match since losing in the third round of the U.S. Open to the world’s 73rd-ranked player, was getting a jump on the start of 2022 in Melbourne, Australia, after her second lengthy break from the game in seven months. And who could blame her.
In the 10 months since she won her fourth Grand Slam title, in Australia, her destiny had gone from can’t-miss superstardom to something far more concerning.
