Naomi Osaka opens up on post-partum depression before US Open return

Professional tennis player Naomi Osaka has opened up about her post-partum depression as she prepares for her US Open return.

Osaka welcomed her daughter Shai in July 2023, taking just a week off from her training routine post-labour.

In a new clip from her upcoming documentary Naomi Osaka: The Second Set, the former world number one in women’s singles admitted she didn’t know how to deal with her depression after giving birth.

Osaka said friends had warned her about the mood disorder, “but truthfully, I had thought that since I was so aware of it, I could somehow avoid all the symptoms altogether”.

In the doco, Osaka said she had found it easier to write about her feelings than speak about them.

“It felt like everyone else had moved on and they were living in colour. Meanwhile, my world was stuck in grey,” Osaka said, disclosing some of her journal entries.

Naomi Osaka gave birth to her daughter Shai in 2023. Photo / @naomiosaka

Osaks also feared talking about her struggles would misrepresent her love for her daughter.

“In no world would I ever want my daughter to think that her birth is nothing less than the biggest gift I have ever received.”

The Japanese sportswoman is expected to reveal more details in the film, which will follow her return to tennis six months post-partum.

She shares Shai, now 2, with the rapper Cordae, whom she was first linked to in 2019.

The pair announced their split in January after six years together.

In a statement on her Instagram story, Osaka said there was “no bad blood at all” with Cordae.

“Honestly really glad our paths crossed because my daughter is my biggest blessing, and I was able to grow a lot from our experience together,” she wrote.

The two-time US Open winner is set to compete in the championships again this month.

She competed at New Zealand’s ASB Classic at the start of this year but forfeited the grand final after an abdominal injury.

Where to get help:

•Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)

•Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)

•Youth services: (06) 3555 906

•Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234

•What’s Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)

•0800 Anxiety Helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY). This service is confidential and free of charge. Open 24/7.

•Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)

•Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737

•Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call 0800 000 053

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.