Naomi Osaka’s Wimbledon return came with a side of self-doubt.
The four-time Grand Slam champion crashed out of her second-round matchup against American teen sensation Emma Navarro, 6-4, 6-1, in a 58-minute clobbering that ended her first Wimbledon tournament since 2019.
“I didn’t feel fully confident in myself. Those doubts started trickling in a lot into my game. I don’t know why those thoughts were so prevalent,” Osaka, who has publicly detailed her struggles with mental health, told reporters. “I didn’t feel like I was playing that well. I guess, like, those doubts started trickling in a lot into my game. Obviously the second set wasn’t that great.
“I feel like for me, I don’t know… I don’t know why those thoughts were so prevalent, yeah.”
The Japanese star, back on the tour after a 15-month maternity break, has not been able to get past the second round in consecutive tournaments, though she did give World No. 1 Iga Swiatek a scare on the clay courts at the French Open last month.
Whatever confidence she may have gained by beating Diane Parry in the first round of Wimbledon came undone against Navarro, the tournament’s 19th seed, as Osaka was broken in the seventh game of the first set after four errors.
“I do know that my last clay court match was really good,” she said, smiling. “So I might end up liking that surface a lot more than grass now.”
New York native Navarro, however, dominated her way to victory and a third-round matchup that has yet to be determined.
“Naomi’s obviously a great player, it’s great to have her back,’ Navarro said on court. “I obviously wanted to get the win today, (and) played some really good tennis at times. It’s my first time on Centre Court. It doesn’t really seem to be real.”
For Osaka, who entered the tournament ranked 113th, its the end of the road at Wimbledon — for this year, at least.
“I’m a little disappointed because I wanted to do really well,” she said. “I feel like I put a lot of time into it. There’s always next year, so…”
The 26-year-old will turn her focus to daughter Shai, who turns 1 this week, and the upcoming Paris Olympics, where she will compete for Japan.
