PARIS
\nNaomi Osaka is \u201cenjoying\u201d her fight to climb back to the upper echelons of tennis as she prepares for her French Open campaign, after showing signs of a return to form this year.
\nThe four-time Grand Slam champion, who missed a match point against eventual winner Iga Swiatek in one of the matches of the 2024 tournament, has returned to the world\u00b4s top 50.
\nOsaka did not play in 2023 due to the birth of her daughter and struggled for consistency after returning to the professional circuit last season.
\nThe Japanese star, who has been open in the past about her battles with depression and mental health issues, says she is relishing her tennis.
\n\u201cI think I\u00b4m enjoying the time more. I\u00b4m enjoying seeing the newer players coming up,\u201d Osaka told reporters at Roland Garros on Saturday.
\n\u201cI don\u00b4t know. Feels like the circle of life a little bit.
\n\u201cI think for me I know that I came back and I\u00b4m choosing to spend this time away from my daughter in order to attempt to achieve things, so I have to make the most out of that time.
\n\u201cComing here or playing any tournament without a positive mentality would just be pointless.\u201d
\nThe 27-year-old stepped down a level to play a second-tier Challenger event in Saint-Malo earlier this month and secured her first tournament victory since winning the 2021 Australian Open.
\nOsaka has also produced strong runs in bigger competitions, reaching the last 16 at both the Miami and Italian Opens. \u201cI think the decision itself (to play in Saint-Malo) was kind of difficult, because in your mind, you do have a little bit of pride,\u201d she admitted.
\n\u201cThere was a lot of pressure. I wouldn\u00b4t really say it was to not lose, but it was more like I had in the back of my head, \u00b4I wonder what people would say about me if I lost here\u00b4.
\n\u201cGranted, I should never be thinking about that when I\u00b4m playing a tennis match… But I got over it.\u201d
\nOsaka revealed her preparations for Roland Garros, where she will face Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa in the first round, were hit by a 5:00 am wake-up call from anti-doping officials on Saturday.
\n\u201cToday was kind of scary, because the last year I was here they also came at 5:00 am, and the lady couldn\u00b4t find my veins at all,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Naomi Osaka is \u201cenjoying\u201d her fight to climb back to the upper echelons of tennis as she prepares for her French Open campaign, after showing signs of a return to form this year. The four-time Grand Slam champion, who missed a match point against eventual winner Iga Swiatek in one of the matches of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n