Osaka strives for consistency, not No. 1 ranking
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is no longer focused on reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking and says she just wants to become more consistent and play every match as hard as she can.
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Three-times Grand Slam champion Osaka rose to the top of the rankings following her 2019 Australian Open triumph but is currently third behind Ash Barty and Simona Halep.
The 23-year-old, who plays former quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round at Melbourne Park, won her second U.S. Open title last year and is widely seen as having the potential to dominate the women`s circuit for years to come.
"It doesn`t bother me as much as it used to because I remember when I first got to No. 1, I think nobody really acknowledged me as No. 1," she told reporters on Saturday.
"I remember I was in Indian Wells and I was talking to someone, they were like, `what side of the draw are you on?` And the No. 1 is always on the top side.
"It just made me think, wow, people don`t really see me as No. 1. ... since that point I just kept trying to prove myself.
"That wasn`t really a good mindset to have.
"Right now I`m at a really good place, I just want to play every match as hard as I can. If it comes to the point where I`m able to be No. 1 again, I`ll embrace it, but I`m not really chasing it any more."
Players did not have the ideal preparation for the year`s first Grand Slam due to Australia`s strict 14-day isolation requirement. Osaka pulled out of her Gippsland Trophy semi-final on Saturday with a shoulder "niggle" as she did not want to risk it before the major.
"Anyone that`s kind of followed me for a bit knows that I`ve kind of had a slight shoulder thing since like 2018 in Beijing," she said.
"It kind of flared up again because I played a lot of matches back-to-back. My main focus is hoping I can rest enough before the Open."