“I don't really feel like I'm in my physique,” says former world primary Naomi Osaka following her return to tennis after a maternity break.
Japan's Osaka returned to the WTA Tour in January after the delivery of her first youngster, daughter Shai, in July 2023.
Since then, the four-time Grand Slam champion has struggled to rediscover his greatest type and has failed to achieve the quarter-finals of any event.
“My largest downside proper now isn’t the losses, my largest downside is that I don't really feel like I belong in my physique,” Osaka, 26, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“It's an odd feeling, balls that I can't miss, hitting balls which are softer than I bear in mind. I attempt to inform myself, 'You've completed nice. Recover from this, maintain pushing.' Mentally it's actually draining.”
American Ashlyn Kruger defeated Osaka within the second spherical of qualifying for the Cincinnati Open on Monday.