"Congrats" - Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and others react as Naomi Osaka welcomes a baby girl with rapper boyfriend Cordae
Tennis players, including Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens, have sent their wishes to Naomi Osaka after the latter gave birth to a baby girl earlier this month.
Osaka, 25, withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open, and announced her pregnancy a few days later. She has been in a relationship with American rapper Cordae since 2019.
On July 7, she gave birth to Shai, her daughter. A day later, Cordae revealed the name of their daughter during a concert in Canada.
Naomi Osaka turned to social media to share pictures of her daughter, Shai, and a few glimpses of her during pregnancy and embracing motherhood. The former World No. 1 even hinted at coming back soon to the tour.
"Well that was a cool little intermission, now back to your regularly scheduled program," the four-time Grand Slam winner wrote on Instagram on July 13.
Osaka's post has earned her warm wishes from her fans as well as several athletes.
Coco Gauff congratulated the first-time mother.
"Congrats," the American wrote along with three red heart emojis.
Former US Open winner Sloane Stephens also expressed happiness at Osaka giving birth to a baby girl. Rennae Stubbs, the former coach of Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur, sent her love to the two-time Australian Open winner as well.
"I’ll be competing in Australia next year" - Naomi Osaka hopes to make her comeback at the Australian Open 2024
Naomi Osaka was last seen in action at the 2022 Japan Open. She was supposed to take on Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round but was forced to pull out due to stomach pain.
Earlier this year, the Japanese tennis pro shed some light on her comeback plans and stated that she hopes to compete in the 2024 Australian Open.
"I'm definitely going to perform well and be a better player than I have been last year. For me, my results just made me want to try harder and be the best that I can be. I’ll be competing in Australia next year," Naomi Osaka said in an interview with a Japanese sports journalist.
Osaka is a two-time winner at the Australian Open. In 2019, she won her maiden Australian Open title by beating Petra Kvitova in the final. The 26-year-old won her second Australian Open title two years later, beating Serena Williams in the semifinals and Jennifer Brady in the summit clash.