Naomi Osaka suffered a surprise defeat just yesterday, exiting the Miami Open in her opening-round match.
It marked the continuation of a poor run of form for the Japanese tennis star, with Talia Gibson claiming the win in straight sets.
Afterwards, many would forgive Naomi Osaka for cutting a downbeat figure.
However, her demeanour arguably hit an all-time low, as she made a rather stark suggestion about her future within the sport.
Naomi Osaka makes retirement threat after losing early in Miami
Whilst it was a shocking loss, she clearly did not take it well, with Osaka revealing that she was in a dilemma that could see her quit tennis for good afterwards.
Speaking after her loss, she did not hold back in her assessment not only of her performance, but also of her presence on the tour.
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Credit: Sofascore
Osaka admitted: “I feel like this also is a dilemma for me.”
She then hinted at an early retirement, just as she did last year, should results not change: “Obviously, I would love to play, but like I said last year … for me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mom. I want to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult.
“I’m not going to play Charleston. I hope I can play Madrid, Rome and then obviously the French Open.
“For me, like I said last year, I’m not going to stay on tour if I’m losing in the first round.
“I’d rather just be a great mom and be there for my daughter. Because for me, I want to win titles and I want to be the best player I can, but if I have to sacrifice having a lot of time with my daughter, I’d rather not do it.”
Why Naomi Osaka has to remain positive despite loss
Whilst it has not been an ideal start to the season for Osaka, she has been far from terrible.
After all, injury concerns forced her to withdraw from her favourable third-round match at the Australian Open, before she was beaten by eventual champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells.
This loss in Miami is disappointing, but she must not forget the progress she made in 2025, which also started relatively poorly.
She did reach a final in Brisbane, but retired injured, later withdrawing from the Australian Open again mid-tournament.
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Osaka then lost early in Indian Wells and only reached the Round of 16 in Miami, before struggling through the clay-court season.
And yet, as she finally got back up to speed with the tour, just as the hard-court North American swing arrived, the 27-year-old reached the final of the WTA 1000 in Canada and made the semi-finals of the US Open.
When on form, Osaka is one of the best players in the world. She just needs to remember that, and remain positive even if it’s tough to find clarity after such surprise emotional defeats.
