NEW YORK: Naomi Osaka returned to the US Open — the site of some of the tennis star’s greatest triumphs on a court and some difficult moments off it — for the first time in about a year to participate in a panel about mental health in sports, a topic she helped focus a spotlight on two years ago. “For me coming back here, it means a lot.
This room, in particular. There were some tears shed. A lot,” Osaka, who won two of her four major championships at Flushing Meadows, said with a chuckle in the Grand Slam tournament’s main interview room. “I feel a lot of joy coming back here.
It’s kind of like seeing an old friend I haven’t seen in a long time.” Wednesday’s gathering, which also included Michael Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, and US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, touched on topics such as loneliness, connecting with others via a “buddy system,” the role of social media in mental health struggles and parenting.
Osaka is a 25-year-old who was born in Japan and moved to the US with her parents when she was 3. She recently gave birth to a daughter and hasn’t competed on tour since an event in Tokyo in September 2022, shortly after she lost in the first round of the US Open.