Superstar Naomi Osaka is stepping away from tennis for the foreseeable future.
As David Kane mentioned for Tennis.com, Osaka confirmed via social media on Wednesday she is expecting her first child with rapper Cordae, her longtime boyfriend.
“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,” Osaka said via a statement. “I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, every day 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 added that “2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me” and that she plans to compete in the 2024 Australian Open next January.
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion who has twice won the Australian Open and who has a pair of U.S. Open titles on her impressive résumé. The 25-year-old generated headlines throughout the sports world in 2021 when she withdrew from that year’s French Open after she was fined $15,000 for failing to conduct mandatory media assignments. She later completed a mental health break away from competitive tennis.
As mentioned by Sky Sports, Osaka has not played in a tournament since she withdrew during the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in September. Issy Ronald of CNN noted that Osaka was suffering from abdominal pain at that time.
Per the Australian Associated Press (h/t The Guardian), eyebrows were raised over the weekend when the former world No. 1 pulled out of this year’s Australian Open. No official reason for that decision was given before Wednesday’s announcement.
Osaka began the week at No. 47 in the world rankings.
