After a tough French Open, Naomi Osaka is optimistic about Wimbledon

There was nary hiding Naomi Osaka's vexation aft her first-round nonaccomplishment to Paula Badosa astatine the French Open past month.

She had won the archetypal acceptable successful a thrilling tiebreaker and battled for 2 hours and 21 minutes successful beforehand of an enthralled assemblage astatine Court Philippe Chatrier. But yet she couldn't adjacent retired the match.

The 27-year-old struggled to talk successful her quality league soon after.

"I consciousness similar I should beryllium doing better," she said with emotion successful her voice. "I hatred disappointing people. So, like, adjacent with [coach] Patrick [Mouratoglou], I was reasoning this conscionable now, helium goes from moving with, like, the top subordinate ever [Serena Williams] to, like, 'What the f--- this is? You cognize what I mean?"

She rapidly apologized for cursing earlier sitting backmost successful her chair, and looked connected the verge of tears. The moderator asked if she needed a infinitesimal to regain her composure. She agreed and near the room.

It would person been understandable if she didn't travel back, possibly adjacent expected during an earlier signifier of her career, but Osaka returned soon after. When asked however the lucifer would marque her stronger, she wasn't sure, but she recovered a metallic lining arsenic she spoke.

"I consciousness similar I larn small things from each match," Osaka said. "I deliberation I mislaid the tiebreaker successful Rome, and I didn't suffer the tiebreaker here. So, I mean, I americium conscious of things erstwhile I'm playing, truthful possibly the adjacent lucifer I play I'll larn small things from today."

According to Mouratoglou, who has been moving with Osaka since September, she's done conscionable that, and helium is much encouraged than ever by what he's seeing as Wimbledon gets underway. Osaka has moved connected afloat from what happened successful Paris. And contempt having ne'er precocious past the 3rd circular astatine the All England Club, Mouratoglou said Osaka is optimistic, and is acceptable for her first-round lucifer against qualifier Talia Gibson connected Monday.

As a erstwhile satellite No. 1 and a four-time large champion, the outer expectations and attraction stay high. It comes with the territory. But Osaka, Mouratoglou and the remainder of the squad aren't reasoning astir winning titles, though they bash judge they volition travel again.

"For the past 2 years she hasn't won arsenic overmuch arsenic she has successful the past, and it tin beryllium hard to woody with," Mouratoglou told ESPN connected Thursday. "So I deliberation astatine this constituent it's overmuch amended to not expect thing and absorption again connected what she tin power and what she wants to execute alternatively than connected the result ... I'm not focused excessively overmuch connected the results, but much connected the crippled and what she produces successful presumption of game. And that's important, and I truly judge it due to the fact that successful the end, if you deliberation astir it, the effect is conscionable the reward for having done the occupation well. The results volition travel if the absorption is connected the close place."

After the lucifer against the tenth-seeded Badosa, Mouratoglou said they sat down and discussed what happened -- what went wrong, wherefore her level dipped successful the 2nd set, and wherefore she made immoderate of the decisions connected tribunal that she made. He believed the much they understood astir the loss, the much it could payment her successful the agelong run.

He besides understood that she desperately needed a fewer days distant from tennis. It had been a agelong clay-court season, during which she played 4 tournaments and won her archetypal rubric (at the 125K Saint-Malo event) since returning from maternity permission astatine the commencement of the 2024 season. Osaka went location to Los Angeles and spent clip with her almost-2-year-old daughter, Shai.

"I deliberation that astir apt having [her daughter] volition assistance her to get implicit her losses, being a mother," Chris Evert, the 18-time large champion and ESPN analyst, said past week. "I deliberation that's a fantastic happening to person that successful her life, and I deliberation that [gives her] perspective."

That position is thing Osaka has spoken openly astir since returning to the tour. While she had struggled with her intelligence wellness anterior to her gestation and had taken aggregate breaks from contention previously, Shai has provided her with thing other to absorption her vigor on, nary substance however she has performed connected the tennis court.

"Giving commencement to my girl changed my mindset a lot," Osaka told ESPN up of her comeback. "And it's besides made maine recognize that my satellite doesn't person to revolve astir maine -- which mightiness besides beryllium a small selfish too. I conjecture I've conscionable recovered outer happiness and interior peace."

According to Mouratoglou, that cognition was connected afloat show erstwhile a refreshed and reenergized Osaka came backmost to Europe to hole for the ever-so-short grass-court season.

"This portion of the play is truthful important and you truly person to beryllium afloat focused," Mouratoglou, besides the writer of the just-released "Champion Mindset" self-help book, said. "If you're reasoning astir the tourney before, you're not truly there. But I deliberation she's truly moved on. She's not reasoning astir Roland Garros astatine all."

Three weeks aft her disappointment successful Paris, Osaka was backmost connected the tribunal and playing astatine the Berlin Open. She mislaid to eventual semifinalist Liudmila Samsonova successful different three-set thriller, but the squad was encouraged by what it saw. Wanting to get much lucifer acquisition connected the aboveground earlier heading to London, Osaka past accepted a chaotic paper for the Bad Homburg Open. In a tightly contested conflict headlined by beardown serving by some players, Osaka defeated Olga Danilovic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) for her archetypal grass-court triumph of the season.

"I anticipation so," Osaka said aft the lucifer erstwhile asked if she was becoming a bully grass-court player. "I mean, I deliberation I person potential, but I don't know. Everyone is besides truly good, truthful I tin never, I guess, instrumentality the wins for granted and [I'm] conscionable ace excited that I won today."

Mouratoglou was impressed by her quality to rise her level throughout, clasp her service and grip the interruption points. She mislaid 6-4, 6-4 successful her lucifer the adjacent time against fifth-seeded Emma Navarro, but the squad inactive deemed the week a success.

And astir importantly, Osaka did too.

"She was precise positive," Mouratoglou said. "And not fakely positive, due to the fact that she's not. When she doesn't consciousness it, she doesn't accidental it oregon she would accidental thing antagonistic if she feels negative. So she's not idiosyncratic who would fake it. But she said to maine that she is truly blessed with however she is playing and that she feels that it's each going to click soon."

Mouratoglou admitted that it's been hard astatine times for Osaka. Having been astatine tennis' highest earlier successful her career, she has struggled implicit the years with her results and knows the expectations others person placed connected her. She hasn't precocious past the 3rd circular astatine a large since she won the Australian Open successful 2021, nor has she claimed a tour-level rubric successful that span. She is presently ranked No. 53 successful the world.

But determination person been agleam spots -- she reached her archetypal WTA last successful astir 3 years successful Auckland this play earlier having to discontinue with injury, and she made the 4th circular astatine the 1000-level events successful Miami and Rome this year. And Mouratoglou believes Osaka has started to admit the travel and her ain efforts.

"She's been No. 1 successful the world, truthful to beryllium No. 50 and having to beryllium diligent doing everything right, that's what she feels is difficult," Mouratoglou said. "But to beryllium astatine the apical of the crippled is precise difficult, truthful this is conscionable a [new] trouble that she needs to accept, but I consciousness she does. I consciousness possibly she was not successful the past month, but present she says to me, 'It's going to click, I conscionable person to beryllium patient.' And she is definite astir it now."

Others person noticed her hard enactment and person seen flashes of her erstwhile brilliance. After their lucifer successful Paris, Badosa praised Osaka's level and said, "Very, precise soon she's going to beryllium wherever she wants to be, for sure."

Evert believes she remains 1 of the champion shot strikers connected circuit and lauded her hard enactment and fitness, but she thinks it's simply assurance that Osaka needs astir to instrumentality to her erstwhile glory.

"I deliberation the No. 1 happening is, and I've watched her play a batch of matches wherever it's been precise close, and she's not won those matches, and I deliberation what she has mislaid a small spot during the clip disconnected was the belief, the content connected the large points, the content successful the large games erstwhile it's 5-all," Evert said. "Those shots, those aureate shots were determination for her taking erstwhile she was winning Slams for those mates of years, but that is missing. She tin get it back. She tin decidedly get it back, but she'll request to triumph immoderate much matches. She'll request to truly interruption done and triumph these tight, choky matches that she seems to beryllium losing now."

Mouratoglou doesn't disagree. He sees conscionable however bully and accordant Osaka tin beryllium successful practice. and their precedence is getting what helium sees each azygous time connected the signifier tribunal to construe successful a match. He believes they are close.

While Osaka has gotten pugnacious first-round opponents successful respective of her caller Slam appearances owed to her deficiency of seeding, she has a comparatively favorable matchup against Gibson, a 21-year-old from Australia playing successful her archetypal large main gully extracurricular of her location country. If Osaka wins Monday, she would apt play No. 5 effect Zheng Qinwen, the reigning Olympic golden medalist successful singles, successful the 2nd round. Zheng has won 2 of their 3 erstwhile meetings, with some wins coming since Osaka's return, but writer is besides Zheng's weakest surface. The victor of their lucifer would not person to look different subordinate seeded wrong the apical 20 until the quarterfinals.

In 4 vocation showings, Osaka has reached the Round of 32 doubly (in 2017 and 2018). Last year, successful her archetypal clip playing the tourney successful 5 years, she reached the 2nd round. But anterior to the gully announcement, erstwhile satellite No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick said determination was "no crushed wherefore she can't play good connected grass" and sounded optimistic astir her chances during a spot connected the Tennis Channel.

Those astir Osaka judge that arsenic well. Although they don't caput the naysayers astir her crippled connected the surface. In fact, they judge the debased expectations and her under-the-radar presumption entering the tourney tin lone payment her.

And due to the fact that of that, possibly Wimbledon -- nevertheless improbable that mightiness dependable -- mightiness really beryllium the cleanable spot for everything to yet travel unneurotic again for Osaka.

"We cognize there's little unit for her to play good connected grass," Mouratoglou said. "It's an accidental to spell determination and play with little unit and beryllium capable again to amusement what she's susceptible of and what she does successful practice. We'll usage that arsenic information person to [her archetypal match] to marque her consciousness lighter and beryllium capable to conscionable absorption connected her game. The remainder volition follow."