Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka says her recent performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games partly played on her mind as she crashed out of the Western and Southern Open on Thursday.
The world No.2 fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, to Switzerland’s Jill Teichmann who is ranked more than 70 places below her in the rankings. This week is only the second tournament Osaka has played in since returning to the Tour following a break due to mental health reasons.
Reacting to her loss to Teichmann, Osaka admits she was perhaps too defensive in her play as the match progressed. It is the first time she has been defeated by a player ranked outside the top 70 since February 2020 when she lost to Sara Sorribes Tormo in the Billie Jean King Cup.
“I thought she played really well. I thought in the first set I was doing everything I was supposed to do, and then in the second set and also in the third set I felt like I was a bit too defensive maybe,” Osaka reflected.
“I also thought that my performance in Tokyo was also lingering in my mind a bit, because I felt like I was overly aggressive there.’
“I felt like I learned a lot from this match and I felt that, if anything to take away from this, I tried my best throughout the entire match.”
It is the second tournament in a row where Osaka has failed to reach the quarter-finals. At the Olympics, she fell in the third round to Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. Although it was the first event she had played in almost two months.
The recent lack of match play has clearly hindered the 23-year-old who is confident that her game is heading in the right direction going into the US Open. It is not just the physical side of her game that is slightly rusty, it is also her tactical approach.
“I feel like an execution issue would be because of not playing matches. I thought that I felt a bit hesitant, and normally I don’t feel that way,” she explains.
“Of course I put myself in this position by choosing not to play that many tournaments.’
“I feel like there were times where I was doubting myself. For me, I feel like it’s important to remind myself what my strengths are, and I think I did that well in the first set. Then in the second set, I felt like maybe I played a bit more to her (Teichmann’s) rhythm, and also in the third set, as well.”
There are also positives for the Japanese player who says she is growing in maturity on the court. Even if there are still outbursts of frustration during matches which she admits she shouldn’t be doing.
“I think I took a step in the right direction because I was able to process things with my team after I lost. I honestly haven’t been able to do that for the last couple of matches, so I think in that way, I have gotten a little bit mature,” she said.
“I know I had a little outburst on the court (in round three), which I’m not that proud of, but hopefully I can keep learning from it.”
As to what’s next, Osaka is pondering the possibility of getting a last-minute wild card to play in one of the two WTA 250 events taking place next week. However, she says there is ‘not a high percentage’ that she is going to do this. Instead, she is more likely to focus on her title defence at the US Open which begins a week Monday.