Former champion Osaka returns to Indian Wells with daughter Shai in tow

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- As unsettled and chaotic as a new mother’s life can be, Naomi Osaka is grooving to a relaxed, back-to-the-future vibe here in the desert.

Six years ago, she arrived at the BNP Paribas Open unseeded (ranked No.44) and, at the age of 20, ran the table on the way to her first tour title. Wins over Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Daria Kasatkina were a revelation, a glorious glimpse of the future. Osaka would win the 2018 US Open -- and four major titles in a span of four years.

She’s unseeded again for the 2024 edition of Indian Wells and plays qualifier Sara Errani in a first-round match Thursday.

“I’m in the Top 200s now -- and I’m actually pretty excited about that,” Osaka told reporters Wednesday. “I totally forgot what it’s like to be a top seed, so I’m just winging it."

She comes into Indian Wells ranked No.287, surging up from outside the Top 500 thanks to her first quarterfinal in two years in Doha. 

“I don’t have too many ties to having the extra [off] day. I feel like it’s better for me to play the seven matches because I want to know what it’s like to potentially win the 'Fifth Grand Slam'.”

Osaka gave birth to daughter Shai in July 2023 and returned from a 15-month sabbatical earlier this year in Australia. It did not go particularly well, with Osaka losing two of three matches in Brisbane and Melbourne.

“I’ve always told people I’m a perfectionist and I’ve had dreams while I was pregnant of what I wanted to achieve,” Osaka said. “Obviously, losing in the first round of the Australian Open wasn’t in my dreams but I think I have to be realistic and kind to myself. I don’t want to be as 'downer' too much in this part of my career.”

Easing the sting is the presence of Shai, nearly eight months old -- enjoying her attendance at a tournament for the first time. Osaka, who lives a few hours away in Los Angeles, considers this a home game. She said it was nice to get in the car and drive to the site.

Playing professional tennis, she said, feels different as a mother.

“When I come back to where she is, I’m immediately a mom,” Osaka said. “So in some ways it’s really fun. But when I’m away from her, I’m always an athlete. But here it’s like I’m an athlete and then I’m a mom at the same time.

“There’s a constant surge of energy that I have to have. I hope that it ends up doing well for me here.”

She was laughing when she said it. Osaka has always been famously shy, and yet reports that Shai is “loud and bubbly.” She feels the Shai/shy similarity is an appropriate irony.

When she was 18, Osaka played Errani for the first and only time in the second round of the Miami Open, defeating her 6-1, 6-3. Last month, Osaka ran into another qualifier, Danielle Collins, in the first round of Abu Dhabi and lost. It snapped her streak of 11 consecutive wins over qualifiers.

In Doha, Osaka showed some of the game that carried her to those Grand Slams. The serve came alive as did those powerful groundstrokes. Add in the ability to transform defense into offense and she earned a first-round victory over Caroline Garcia -- the player who took her out in Melbourne. And then she handled Petra Martic and Lesia Turenko to advance to the quarterfinals.

There, she succumbed to the temptation of imagining a semifinal match against World No.1 Iga Swiatek in what would have been a rematch of her last final appearance at 2022 Miami.

“Looking ahead to Iga,” Osaka said, “started to think too far ahead -- stressing myself out.”

She lost to Karolina Pliskova – in two tiebreakers -- but understandably came away with a renewed sense of confidence. Just from outward appearances, Osaka seems more comfortable in her own skin than she was pre-Shai. Osaka wore a North Carolina Courage jersey to her press conference, the National Women’s Soccer League team she co-owns.

Why did she get involved?

“I would say the biggest thing is uplifting women’s sports,” Osaka said. “I’ve been really fortunate to follow a lot of really great women athletes. And I think that train has to continue. I think people aren’t aware of how many cool athletes there are in the world. And it’s more shining the light on them.”

The time off, too, seems to have made this 26-year-old wiser.

“I’ve learned a lot of patience,” she said. “Also resilience. I don’t know if some people might think they’re similar. I think you have to go through a lot of things playing tennis and you also have to be patient because things might not go your way.

“Eventually, if you keep trying they might. And if not, you have to try again another day.”