Tennis legend's plea to Osaka amid 'life update'

1 year ago 48

The tennis satellite has welcomed the quality astir Naomi Osaka's gestation arsenic the erstwhile satellite No.1 announced she'll instrumentality a twelvemonth disconnected tennis.

Osaka is large and plans to instrumentality to contention successful 2024, the tennis prima announced connected Thursday morning (AEDT).

She joins erstwhile satellite No.1 Ash Barty successful announcing the beingness changing news, which means the past 2 winners of the Australian Open are pregnant.

In existent fact, each the pistillate winners astatine Melbourne Park dating backmost to 2016 person either fixed birth, are present large oregon successful Serena Williams' case, won the tourney successful 2017 portion carrying her girl Olympia.

Osaka posted what she called “a small beingness update for 2023” connected societal media, including a representation of an ultrasound.

The 25-year-old has been dating Cordae, a rapper, for years.

“I cognize that I person truthful overmuch to look guardant to successful the future, 1 happening I'm looking guardant to is for my kid to ticker 1 of my matches and archer someone, 'that's my mom,'" Osaka wrote.

Osaka hasn't played a competitory lucifer since September and withdrew from the Australian Open, which begins connected Monday. She has won that tourney twice, on with 2 US Open championships.

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She has taken intelligence wellness breaks successful caller years and didn’t play again aft the Pan Pacific Open successful Tokyo, soon aft falling successful the archetypal circular of the US Open. Osaka said the fewer months distant person fixed her “a caller emotion and appreciation for the crippled I’ve dedicated my beingness to.”

Barty, the 2022 Australian Open champion, announced past week she was pregnant. She retired past twelvemonth portion holding the No.1 ranking.

Speaking connected Nine's Today hours aft Osaka's announcement, Todd Woodbridge said it would beryllium fantastic to spot Barty articulation Osaka connected the circuit adjacent year, though helium admits it's wishful thinking.

"I liked astatine the extremity of her connection erstwhile she said "I'm looking guardant to coming backmost successful 2024," Woodbridge said.

"Automatically it acceptable disconnected successful my mind: 'hey a young Australian mightiness beryllium capable to travel backmost with her.'

"Maybe she tin get connected the telephone to Ash Barty, they volition some beryllium caller mums by them. Maybe they tin acceptable up creche and determination it astir the satellite and Ash could beryllium backmost retired there.

"I'm not definite Ash would hold with maine but we'll works the seed."

Osaka said she volition instrumentality to tennis and plans to beryllium successful Melbourne adjacent twelvemonth for the commencement of the season.

“2023 volition beryllium a twelvemonth that’ll beryllium afloat of lessons for maine and I anticipation I’ll spot you guys successful the commencement of the adjacent one, origin I’ll beryllium astatine Aus 2024,” Osaka wrote. “Love you each infinitely.”

Osaka closed by saying she doesn’t cognize if there’s a perfectly close way successful life, but that “if you determination guardant with bully intentions you'll find your mode eventually.”

- further reporting by AP

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