Osaka says she is "not far off" her best and often weighs her future ahead of Tokyo return

Naomi Osaka said she is "not far off" the form that brought her four Grand Slam titles and admitted she often thinks about quitting as she prepares to compete at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, the comments published on 25 October 2026. She added she would quit tennis if her three-year-old daughter, Shai, asked her to.

Osaka's most recent Grand Slam victory came at the Australian Open in February 2021, and she twice won both the US Open and the Australian Open between 2018 and 2021, a period that included a rise to world number one. She stepped away from the sport in 2021 to prioritise her mental health, spent another 15 months out after becoming pregnant, and returned to the tour in 2023 following the birth of her daughter.

On her future in the game Osaka said: "It's tough, sometimes I look towards my future and I often wonder how long I'm going to play," and added: "Because if my daughter did say she didn't want me to travel as much, I'm not the type of person to ignore that." She also stated, "my daughter is my biggest priority."

Describing how parenthood has changed her approach to tennis, Osaka said: "I try my best to put as much energy as I can into tennis," and, "I wouldn't say I'm part-timing it but my entire day doesn't consist of that." She also commented, "If I think about it in certain ways, I'm really proud of where I am now because it's not like I can dedicate my entire time to the sport."

On court this year Osaka has climbed back to 19th in the world. Her results include beating top seed Aryna Sabalenka en route to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, finishing runner-up at the preceding grass tournament at Bad Homberg, reaching the last 16 at both the French Open and US Open, making the semi-finals in Washington and the quarter-finals in Toronto, and having her run at Flushing Meadows ended by eventual champion Elena Rybakina.

Osaka is placed in the opposite side of the Pan Pacific Open draw to world number one Elena Rybakina. Rybakina won her fourth title of the year at the Ningbo Open in China, powering past Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in Sunday's final to claim a first tournament victory since last month's US Open.

Seeded seventh for this week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Osaka will open her campaign against Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the tournament's first round.