"I think for me, I've gotten over trying to fill people's shoes, I don't think you can ever do that because everyone's unique" - Naomi Osaka on living up to Serena Williams after the American's retirement
Former World No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has stated that she cannot fill the shoes of 23-time Major winner Serena Williams.
The Japanese player is one of the most popular and highest-paid athletes in the world and was touted as the next big thing in women's tennis after Williams.
But in an interview ahead of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, she revealed that everyone is unique and cannot fill the shoes of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“I think for me, I've kind of gotten over trying to fill people's shoes. I don't think you can ever do that because everyone's unique. We're all kind of forging our own paths and we're all on our own journeys, but I think it's really incredible all the stuff she's done for the sport and even beyond that," said Osaka.
Ahead of the WTA event in Tokyo, she stated that she could not go in the wrong direction in her tennis and added that she needs to rely on her aggressive games to win matches.
"I think tennis-wise, I don't really think I can go in a wrong direction. I feel like me as a player, my base is pretty solid. I can only really learn more about myself. I know that I am an aggressive player and I can only hope to keep doing that," she mentioned.
"I feel like I just want to play well" - Naomi Osaka ahead of her return to tennis at the Pan Pacific Open
Naomi Osaka mentioned that she just wants to play well once again ahead of her first-round match against Daria Saville. She's yet to have a breakthrough performance this year and is yet to win a title at the event.
Speaking about playing in her home country, Osaka stated that she feels "really happy" when she's in Japan and always plays well.
"I feel like I just want to play well. I think that's always a really good feeling for me. Whenever I come to Japan, I feel really happy, I feel like I always play well here, and I think I do. So I think it's a really good combination," said Naomi.
The tournament is returning to the WTA calendar for the first time since 2019, when Osaka defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets. She stated that it's "really weird" to be the defending champion since she won the event three years ago and mentioned that it'd be nice to see fans after a fan-less Olympics in 2021.
"It feels really weird to hear that I'm the defending champion because it was the last time I played in 2019. I would love to win it again, but I think just taking it one match at a time … and also just playing in front of a crowd in Tokyo again, because the Olympics was crowdless, so it will just be nice to see people," said Naomi Osaka.