"I’m very afraid of letting my partner down" - Naomi Osaka on playing mixed doubles at 2022 US Open
Naomi Osaka took to Twitter on Friday to lay bare her desire to play mixed doubles at this year's US Open. However, she admitted to being frightened by the proposition of letting her doubles partner down.
While the four-time singles Major champion has played women's doubles at Slams on a handful of occasions, she is yet to play mixed doubles.
"I kinda want to play mixed doubles in US Open cause I’ve never played a full match in my life but I’m also very afraid of letting my partner down," Osaka tweeted.
I kinda want to play mixed doubles in US Open cause I’ve never played a full match in my life but I’m also very afraid of letting my partner down 💀
The 24-year-old was expected to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon this year, but she, unfortunately, had to pull out of the tournament due to injury.
Fellow four-time Major champion Kim Clijsters responded to Osaka's tweet, egging her on to play mixed doubles, citing its immense fun quotient.
"Naomi Osaka Go for it! It's so much fun!" tweeted Clijsters.
@naomiosaka Go for it ! It’s so much fun!
Who could Naomi Osaka end up partnering with should she play mixed doubles at the US Open?
While it is difficult to accurately predict Naomi Osaka's mixed doubles partner due to the plethora of options at her disposal, Nick Kyrgios is the standout favorite to partner the Japanese.
Kyrgios shared a video of Osaka watching him practice his serve back in March. Naturally, this led to rumors that the two could be planning to team up for mixed doubles.
“Quick LA session with @naomiosaka. Analysing my serve to find any small detail … Her hunger to learn was pretty epic to see from a champ like her,” Kyrgios wrote.
Osaka was asked to comment on the idea of her teaming up with Kyrgios after her win over Sloane Stephens at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells earlier this year. She cheekily responded that she would "consider" teaming up with the Aussie if he promised to provide the bulk of the quality, given her weakness in doubles.
“If he wants to attempt to carry us, I’ll consider it,” Naomi Osaka said at Indian Wells. "But I haven’t played doubles in years and I’m not quite great at it. I know he just won the Australian Open doubles title. Yeah, if he wants to do everything.”
After her Madrid Open defeat against Sara Sorribes Tormo, Osaka was asked to explain her coming to the net often against the Spaniard. She said that she was trying to hone her doubles skills in preparation of competing in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
"So I've been really trying to focus on my net game, because I'm going to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon," Osaka said. "I know, shocking, right? I'm shocked too. I really don't want to disappoint the person I'm playing with, because whenever I play doubles I always say sorry. I'm going to try not to be a liability. Isn't it more fun to kind of see it when it's around the time?"
With her concluding line, Osaka all but confirmed that she plans to team up with Kyrgios.
"I'm pretty sure if you wanted to guess, you could guess who it is," she added.