"Am I the only one who thinks it's unhealthy?" - Tennis fans react to Naomi Osaka being back in training just days after giving birth
Several tennis fans on social media have expressed concern about Naomi Osaka's return to training mere days after giving birth.
Osaka recently gave birth to her baby daughter, Shia, with longtime boyfriend and three-time Grammy-nominated rap artist Cordae. The Japanese star's last appearance on the WTA Tour was in September 2022. She pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open and publicly announced her pregnancy in January.
Although Osaka's pregnancy announcement mentioned that she was aiming for a return at the 2024 Melbourne Major, new developments suggest otherwise. The 25-year-old seems eager to get in shape for a comeback.
In a video posted on social media, the four-time Grand Slam champion was seen doing lateral hurdle jumps on a synthetic race track. One fan responded by saying they were happy about Osaka's return, before questioning whether it was healthy for her to do so during the postpartum period.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy to have Naomi back, but... 15 days? Am I the only one who thinks it's unhealthy and is creating a pressure to come back as soon as possible?"
Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy to have Naomi back, but... 15 days? Am I the only one who thinks it's unhealthy and is creating a pressure to come back as soon as possible? twitter.com/wentheodore/st…
Another fan claimed that athletes' bodies are "built different" and that Osaka wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't approved by her doctors.
"Honestly, I think she has a good medical team around her + doctors and she definitely asked if she can do it? these women are built different, they literally train during pregnancy too, so I think she wouldn't do this if she wasn't allowed to by her doctors."
@Strzewa91 honestly, I think she has a good medical team around her + doctors and she definitely asked if she can do it? these women are built different, they literally train during pregnancy too, so I think she wouldn't do this if she wasn't allowed to by her doctors
Here are some more reactions from tennis fans:
@Strzewa91 It's her body so why do we HAVE TO have an opinion about that? She knows how she feels and does what she decided is good for HER. And this is about her, not anybody else.
@Strzewa91 I truly don't think its a race tho? Every player that came back after giving birth were doing it in their own speed and time. Naomi is one of the youngest mothers in tennis, ofc her recovery will be faster.
@MeszkeHeszke Well, she just gave birth and pregnancy is really demanding on woman's body, so even if she recovers quickly, I don't think she should be training so hard just few days later. She is still in postpartum period.
@currentdanny @Strzewa91 @MeszkeHeszke Her body is not the same as ours, that's for sure, and of course she has a medical team to advise her. That being said, just as the rest of us (well, not you, Dan, I guess), she had a baby coming through her pelvic floor and athlete or not, it *seems* early to do such exercises.
@Strzewa91 I'm sure she has the best medical professionals in her team that will make sure she's ok about this
@Strzewa91 Everything seems to have gone smoothly for her and she is recovering quickly. She is an athlete and maybe her body handles it differently than the average woman. I think she consulted her doctor about everything, and she doesn't do it on her own
@Strzewa91 @MeszkeHeszke She is under medical care from experts. She has millions of $ of endorsements because of her athletic abilities so I doubt she would risk her body.
Please stop comparing yourself to a pro athlete especially with someone who has 4 grand slam titles.
Naomi is not a "normal" woman
@Strzewa91 She said something about coming back in January I doubt she’ll return anytime sooner than that.
Naomi Osaka is currently at her lowest rank since 2013
As a consequence of her lengthy absence from the tour, Naomi Osaka has fallen down the WTA rankings and currently holds the 439th spot. Osaka held the same rank nearly 10 years ago, in the first week of December 2013, and ended the year ranked No. 430.
Before announcing her withdrawal from the Australian Open and with it, her maternity leave, Naomi Osaka was ranked World No. 42.
The four-time Grand Slam attained the No. 1 spot on January 28, 2019, and enjoyed her time as the top female tennis player in the world for 25 weeks.