After her loss at the Miami Open last week, Naomi Osaka did not hold back in her self-assessment.
In fact, with emotions running high as she exited this event early, Osaka actually hinted at an early retirement should things not pick up.
Around this time last year, she made the same threat and went on to reach a WTA 1000 final and the US Open semi-finals.
However, heading into the clay-court season, where Naomi Osaka historically has struggled, this feels more real.
Danielle Collins, keen for tennis not to lose one of its biggest stars, has offered some advice.
Danielle Collins reacts to Naomi Osaka’s retirement hint
Speaking on Tennis Channel, the American began by insisting: “We want to see Naomi on court, happy, enjoying her career.”
Collins continued: “Obviously, she’s a mom. It’s not easy doing it all.
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“You know, we hear a lot in today’s world about everyone can do everything, and that’s just not true. We can’t always do everything at once, and sometimes we need to be able to find that balance. I can understand what she has to say, and I can see why she would maybe feel that way, but I just love watching her compete out on court.
“I think she’s so important for our sport. I love the fashion moments that she brings, and the personality and, yeah, I want to see her back out there, so I’d be really sad if she wraps this up and this comes to an end. It would be really heartbreaking for me.”
Jimmy Arias then sought to rationalise Osaka’s frustration, adding: “I think after an emotional loss, you lose first round, she’s not been losing first round.
“So when she said, if I keep losing first round, she hasn’t been losing too many first rounds, as you said. And she had a great run last year in the summer, making finals in Canada semis of the US Open, so it hasn’t been as bad as she was making it out to be.
“And by the way, Talia Gibson, all of a sudden, is a top ten player, the way she’s played for the last two weeks out of nowhere. I understand why maybe when Osaka played her, she was thinking, this player’s not ranked very high. Wait a minute, Gibson will be.
“So Osaka’s fine, except that we’re now going to clay, and if she’s worried about losing first rounds, that is sometimes what happens to her on the clay. So we’ll see.”
Collins echoed that sentiment, concluding by noting: “And I do think her having high expectations for herself is understandable. Being the athlete that she is, being the figure that she is in women’s sports.
“But I just think maybe she needs to have a moment. She takes a little bit of pressure off herself, and maybe takes a little break or something like that, and just rebounds, go on a little vacation, maybe to Greece or Italy, and I think she’ll come back and she’ll have a much different feeling about all this.”
Taylor Townsend recently shared what her relationship with Osaka is like, whilst also revealing how she really is behind the scenes.
Why does Naomi Osaka want to retire early?
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, naturally has high expectations for herself.
However, since taking breaks from the sport for both mental health reasons and to have a baby, it has not been the seamless return to action she would have hoped for.
In her absence, the former world number one was left behind by a handful of elite-level players who are all genuine threats for elite titles. If Osaka feels she cannot compete with them, she won’t stick around.
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As she admitted, the 28-year-old has other things to focus on now.
And, the fact that she has already won four majors means she has little left to prove.
If Osaka were to retire, it would be a tragedy for women’s tennis; but she would bow out as a legend of the sport and a trailblazer in many regards.
