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Naomi Osaka Makes Promise to Herself After Deep Talk with Dad That ‘Panicked’ Her

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Gouri Das | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 9:51 AM ET

Naomi Osaka shared insights of her conversation with her dad, Leonard Francois, that stuck with her ever since. In the ongoing Wimbledon, Osaka’s run ended when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated her in three sets in the third round.

Osaka ended another Grand Slam tournament without making a deep run. She was visibly emotional and also called herself a “negative human being“.

Later, in a deep talk with her dad, Osaka realized that the weight of expectation from herself as well as the others was stopping her from enjoying her tennis journey. The 27-year-old has now promised herself to be content with her tennis career. She wrote on Instagram:

He had told me how at 59 years old he feels closer to the end of his life than the beginning and its made him want to enjoy and treasure the years he has left. He told me he finds this interesting because he thinks my tennis career is potentially similar.

Before arriving in London, the four-time Grand Slam champion played two grass-court events (in Berlin and Bad Homburg), losing both in the early rounds. Osaka has lifted one title this season, a Challenger trophy in Saint-Malo. She has never reached a grass-court final, and at Wimbledon, thrice she made it to the third round but could never progress beyond it.

When we first had this conversation I stared at him blankly. I didn’t really understand what he was trying to say to me and truthfully the topic made me panic. After a couple days a realization suddenly hit me. I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, playing professionally since I was 14 and I’m 27 now. I’ve lived almost my entire life playing this sport and I guess it’s true. I am closer to the end than the beginning.
Naomi Osaka added

Check out her post here:

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A post shared by 大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka)

Osaka has not yet lifted a tour-level trophy since winning her fourth Grand Slam title at the 2021 Australian Open. Since then, twice she reached a final, losing both. The last time she played a tour-level final was in this year’s ASB Classic where an injury forced her to give a walkover to Clara Tauson.

Wim Fissette reveals how coaching Iga Swiatek is different to Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka parted ways with Wim Fissette in September last year and the Belgian coach then joined Iga Swiatek‘s team after the Pole ended her partnership with Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. Before Swiatek and Osaka, Fissette had also worked with four other former World No.1 players.

After Swiatek’s victory over Danielle Collins in the third round of Wimbledon, Fissette explained the differences between coaching Swiatek and Osaka. Fissette told Wimbledon that joining Swiatek after Osaka is like “day and night” as everything about them is different.

Iga just wants super direct information, facts, she wants to hear everything, even if it’s not good, to be corrected on every ball. If that works for her, it’s up to me to do that.

After Collins, the five-time Grand Slam champion went past Clara Tauson to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinal for the second time, following the 2023 season. She will now be up against Liudmila Samsonova, who knocked out Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the previous round.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event where the 24-year-old has never reached the last four. Swiatek is aiming to end her trophy drought in the tournament as she has not yet lifted a title since winning her fourth Roland Garros title last year. This year, Swiatek reached just one final- at the Bad Homburg Open, but she couldn’t cross the final hurdle in the form of Jessica Pegula. It was also her first final on grass.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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