Naomi Osaka considering retirement? Ex-world no. 1 rather be a 'great mom than losing in first round'

Naomi Osaka isn't sure about her future as a professional tennis player after an early exit at Miami Open. Her statement came after 7-5, 6-4 loss in the first round of Miami Open against Australia's Talia Gibson. The Japanese player returned to the action in 2024 after giving birth to her daughter Shai. Osaka's return to professional tennis has not been smooth which includes early exits and recurrance of her stomach injury. She admittted to having a dilemma that between speding time with her daughter and being the best professional player she can be. The former world no. 1 has four grand slam titles to her name - Australian Open in 2019 & 2021 and US Open in 2018 & 2020 - all before her maternity break.

Is Osaka considering retirement from professional tennis?

"I feel like this also is a dilemma for me," Osaka told reporters after the loss. "Obviously, I would love to play, but like I said last year … for me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mom. I want to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult. I’m not going to play Charleston. I hope I can play Madrid, Rome and then obviously the French Open."

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Osaka's best result since making a comeback was last year when she reached the semi-finals of US Open 2025 in women's singles. The former world no. 1 has very high expectations from herself and she is not willing to play without results.

"For me, like I said last year, I’m not going to stay on tour if I’m losing in the first round," Osaka added. “I’d rather just be a great mom and be there for my daughter. Because for me, I want to win titles and I want to be the best player I can, but if I have to sacrifice having a lot of time with my daughter, I’d rather not do it.”