Naomi Osaka believes her latest performance at Wimbledon wasn’t as good as it could have been because she played too much leading up to it.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Karolina Muchova, who has now reached the last four of every major event during her career. It is a bittersweet loss for Osaka, who defeated world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka two days ago and came into her latest match having not dropped a set in the tournament.
On the other hand, this year is Osaka’s best performance at Wimbledon. At the tournament, she recorded her 15th win over a top-10 player, but her first on a surface that wasn’t a hardcourt.
“It’s hard for me to immediately think of something positive,” Osaka commented during her press conference.
“I feel like it’s hard ’cause I played so well in my last match, then today I just feel like I didn’t play well at all and I didn’t have any energy.
“The score was pretty good for what it was.”
As for the root cause of why she was lacking energy, Osaka believes playing more matches on the grass to help familiarize her with the surface has partially backfired. Prior to Wimbledon, she reached her first Tour-level final in Bad Homburg, which coincidentally was against Muchova. However, she retired from the match with a foot issue.
“I could feel it coming ’cause I’ve played way more matches than I usually do before a slam,” she continued.
“I just wanted to try that to see the rhythm. Obviously, it worked out well. But I think I probably won’t do that again.
“I would say it was like an accumulation of playing two weeks straight without a day off.”
As for her physical health, Osaka was seen wearing taping around her ankle, which she later clarified was for her foot. The team of the former world No.1 believes she is dealing with plantar fasciitis. This is a condition where tissue along the bottom of a person’s foot becomes inflamed. Those with the condition can experience pain in the foot, around the heel and arch.
“It kind of started happening off-season last year,” she explains. “I feel like maybe it’s ’cause I’m a lot more springy on my toes. I think it reactivated on grass court because I’m pushing off a lot more to go forward.”
Osaka was playing in her 34th grand Slam at Wimbledon. It is only the second time she has reached the last eight of a major since winning the 2021 Australian Open. She was also a semi-finalist at the US Open last year.
“This one is a little more upsetting to me because I feel like there was so much more I could have done,” she explains.
“I should find the positive in that because I’ve gotten to the quarters and I feel like I can still improve so much as a player.
“(But) I feel like in my head I think there’s still an opportunity to win a slam.”
