A Mother's Priorities, A Champion's Drive
Naomi Osaka is back competing at a high level in 2026, and the four-time Grand Slam champion is candid about the balancing act she navigates every day. Speaking ahead of her opening match at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, the 29-year-old admitted that her three-year-old daughter Shai sits at the very top of her list of priorities. If Shai ever asked her to stop traveling, Osaka said plainly, she would not be the kind of person to brush that off. "My daughter is my biggest priority," she noted, adding that while she gives tennis everything she has, her entire day no longer revolves around the sport alone. Rather than seeing that as a limitation, she views it as something to be proud of, acknowledging that she is performing at a solid level without the total dedication that defined her earlier career.
Results Suggest the Old Osaka Is Returning
The numbers back up her quiet confidence. This season Osaka climbed back to 19th in the world rankings and is seeded seventh in Tokyo, where she faces Italy's Jasmine Paolini in round one. Her 2026 campaign has included a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, highlighted by a win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka, plus last-sixteen finishes at both the French Open and the US Open. She also reached the semifinals in Washington and the quarterfinals in Toronto. Her run at Flushing Meadows ended only at the hands of eventual champion Elena Rybakina. Osaka says certain competitive instincts feel like they are coming back to her, describing the process as relearning rather than rebuilding from scratch. She believes a solid foundation is already in place. TennisDraw users have been backing Osaka as a dark-horse contender at the Pan Pacific Open this week.
