Naomi Osaka reveals she’s pregnant after withdrawing from Australian Open
Congratulations are in order for Naomi Osaka.
The 25-year-old tennis star is expecting her first child, she announced in a note on social media Wednesday, which included a photo of a sonogram. Osaka has been dating American rapper Cordae since 2019.
“The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that it’s the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun,” Osaka wrote. “These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to.”
“I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha.”
Osaka said she plans to return for the Australian Open in 2024.
“2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024. Love you all infinitely,” Osaka wrote.
“[Side note]: I don’t think there’s a perfectly correct path to take in life but I always felt that if you move forward with good intentions you’ll find your way eventually,” she added.
Osaka announced her pregnancy four days after the Australian Open confirmed that she withdrew from the 2023 competition, which begins on Jan. 16.
The former World No. 1 last played at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September. Osaka won an opening round match against Daria Saville via retirement, before she withdrew citing abdominal pain ahead of her second-round match with Beatriz Haddad Maia.
In her pregnancy announcement, Osaka made no mention of Cordae, who has yet to address the news. The grammy-nominated rapper finished a Euro tour in October 2022, marking his first-ever headline tour.
The couple, which is fairly private about their relationship, were first seen together at a Clippers game in 2019. A year later, Osaka said Cordae “stopped everything” to quarantine with her at the U.S. Open after she FaceTimed him from the event saying she was “feeling sad and lonely” in the bubble.
“We were dating for almost a year before people knew about us,” Cordae told GQ in a joint interview with Osaka in February 2021. “So we kind of move very reclusively. We don’t really post intimate moments, because I feel as though they’re sacred. A relationship is really a sacred thing. Once you let outside influences get into it, it becomes less sacred.”
Osaka made headlines in 2021 for opening up about her mental health struggles. She withdrew from the French Open after first saying she would not do press conferences at the Grand Slam. Osaka then skipped Wimbledon last July, saying at the time that she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018.
In March, Osaka explained her decision to “finally” seek therapy, following a heckling incident at Indian Wells that led to her tearfully addressing the crowd after she lost to Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets.
Osaka said she sought therapy after her sister Mari, a former professional tennis player, “seemed very concerned for me.”
