Former US Open champion Naomi Osaka had quite a moment in Paris. She might not have had a long run at the Olympics, but her hard work was quite visible to her followers. While Osaka hasn’t shown an impressive performance this season, she is dedicated to making a change. Stalking the moves of talented Iga Swiatek, Osaka fuels excitement about her next performance in Canada. Is she trying her heart and soul for a victory?
Before starting her Canadian Open tour tomorrow, Osaka sat down for a press conference to delve into many important things such as her recent loss at the Paris Olympics, and the changing definition of success in her life. However, she surprised everyone by mentioning her reason for stalking her colleague and the world’s number one tennis player, Iga Swiatek. “Honestly, I was stalking Iga. I was like watching her practice at the Olympics and for me, that’s something I want to do more like watch the great players because there’s always something I can pick up on and I know she has one of the better footwork or probably the best footwork skills on the WTA so yeah I’m just trying to copy a little,” said Osaka.
The Japanese WTA star faced off against Swiatek in 2024 May during the French Open and lost. Before she played against the Polish tennis star, she praised Swiatek’s tennis skills. “I watched her a lot when I was pregnant. Honestly, I think it’s an honor to play her in the French Open because she’s won more than once here. It’s a very big honor and challenge for me,” said the Japanese former US Open champion. Naomi Osaka’s revelations expressed that she is hell bound to improvise her form and, for that, she is vested in seeking inspiration from the top WTA player.
On the other hand, Swiatek expressed her best wishes for Osaka last year. After Shai’s birth in July of last year, Osaka decided to return to her favorite sport and Swiatek seemed visibly happy about it.
Iga Swiatek was “happy” about Naomi Osaka’s decision to return to tennis post-child-birth
In an interview with The National News in December, Iga Swiatek expressed delight in hearing about her “friend” Naomi Osaka’s return to the court with a wildcard entry at the Australian Open tour. “Naomi, we may play against each other, so it is pretty funny, but I am happy she is back. I am curious if they are going to be rusty or not but, obviously, they are both really experienced and I hope they are going to do well,” Swiatek said.
During Swiatek’s match against Osaka at the Roland Garros second round, this Polish tennis star revealed how the latter put pressure on her. “I guess Naomi for sure, I didn’t have time to kind of get into it. It was just intense from the beginning and she put pressure on me, so I’m happy that I handled it well and after that, the weather changed also. So, it helps my game, I feel. I just gained confidence I would say,” she said.
Nevertheless, Naomi Osaka’s admiration for her colleague Iga Swiatek showed how tennis turns two opponents into friends. Despite rivalry, Swiatek and Osaka restore people’s faith in a positive professional bond.
