'It's a lot of pressure on you' - Rennae Stubbs explores Naomi Osaka's mindset after the Japanese superstar won her first WTA 125 title

Former World No.1 Naomi Osaka once again found herself in the winners circle, as the Japanese superstar won the title at the WTA 125 event in Saint Malo, her first trophy in four years.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has been struggling to regain her consistency on tour following the birth of her first child in 2023. Osaka reached the final in Auckland earlier this season, but retired due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set against Danish player Clara Tauson.

Stubbs praises Osaka for competing at a smaller event

After a disappointing first round exit at the 2025 Madrid Open, Osaka opted to compete at the L’Open 35 de Saint Malo, a WTA 125 tournament. The two-time US Open champion looked impressive during the event, defeating Slovenian Kaja Juvan in the final to win the first WTA 125 title of her career.

On an episode of her podcast, former doubles star Rennae Stubbs lauded Osaka's efforts at the event. The Australian admitted it would be difficult for the Japanese star to focus during the lesser-known event, as fans and analysts would subject her to severe criticism should she fail to win the title.

"What people don’t realize is the amount of pressure that would have been on her shoulders to win that tournament," said Stubbs. "[People would say] if you don’t win this tournament, you should not be playing any more. I have seen players go back to playing Challengers, like 25s and 50s, to get matches that are ranked outside the top 250 now that were ranked inside the top 20.
"It’s really hard. It’s a lot of pressure on you. It’s why a lot of them don’t go down to the lower levels because they don’t want even more pressure on them to win the tournament.
“I give her a ton of credit for doing that. And we will see how she does going into the next couple of weeks, because I would not want to play her."

Osaka will hope to ride her momentum into the Rome Open, where she faces home favorite Sara Errani in the first round.