Naomi Osaka hilariously reacts as she "walks" back home to get her steps in despite a grueling Wimbledon 1R win
Naomi Osaka reacted to her taking a walk back to her home to get her steps in for the day, even after scoring a win in the first-round match in three sets at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Osaka secured her first victory at the grasscourt Major in six years, her last having come in 2018 when she defeated Katie Boulter in the second round.
Osaka is making a comeback to the Wimbledon Championships after a five-year absence, her last appearance being the 2019 Slam. This year, the Japanese, like Angelique Kerber, Emma Raducanu and Caroline Wozniacki, was granted a wildcard to the main draw at SW19.
Osaka kicked off her campaign at the All England Lawn Tennis Club by defeating World No. 53 Diane Parry 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in an hour and 32 minutes in the first round.
Following her win, EVOLVE, the talent agency co-founded by Osaka and her longtime agent Stuart Duguid, took to social media to share a video of the former World No.1 walking back to her home to get the steps of her day in.
"When you win in 3 sets but still walk home from the courts to get your steps in 😂 @naomiosaka," EVOLVE captioned their Instagram story.
Osaka re-shared the video on her own social media platform and added a touch of humor with three crying emojis in response.
"😭 😭 😭 ," Osaka captioned her Instagram story.
To prepare for the grasscourt Major, Naomi Osaka had participated in the 2024 Libema Open and the ecotrans Ladies Open. She made it to the quarterfinals in s-Hertogenbosch but faced an early exit in Berlin with a first-round loss.
Naomi Osaka: “I know I need the results to back it up, but certain aspects of my game are better”
While talking to the press, following her win over Diane Parry in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Naomi Osaka, who made a comeback to the court after giving birth to her daughter, Shai in July 2023, stated that she had noticed some changes in her training and playing abilities since becoming a mother. She said that she has adapted her game accordingly since then.
Osaka said (via Punto de Break):
“It’s funny because when I was first coming back from pregnancy, I thought I was going to train exactly the same way and play the same. But I think that’s the cool thing about life, that I don’t have to constantly revisit the past. That puts a lot of pressure on me. The way I want to play now is an evolution of how I played before.”
The former World No.1 also mentioned that she has seen improvements in certain aspects of her game since her return to tennis. Osaka stated that she only needs a few better results to back up her claim.
“I know I need the results to back it up, but I think certain aspects of my game are better. I just need to put the pieces together. As an athlete in general, I think I could be a little bit better now because I used to get injured and parts of my body would hurt. I don’t have any pain anymore because of the way I train,” she added.
Naomi Osaka next faces 19th seed Emma Navarro in the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and this match will mark their first meeting on the WTA Tour.