Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka said she will not continue playing tennis for long if she does not meet her own expectations.

Osaka returned to competitive tennis from a 15-month maternity break at the start of 2024. She made her comeback in Brisbane in early January before competing at the Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Osaka suffered a first-round exit at the Australian Open and was knocked out in the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon. Later, the four-time Grand Slam champion lost her first-round match at the Paris Olympics before suffering a second-round exit at the U.S. Open.

Her best performance in 2024 came at Doha and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, where she reached the quarter-finals in the WTA 1000 and 250 events respectively.

Osaka, now 57th in the WTA rankings, had a 22-17 singles record in 2024.

“I don’t think I’m the type of player that would hang around,” Osaka told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

“I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now if I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.

“I’d rather spend time with my daughter if I’m not where I think I should be and where I feel like I can be.”

Osaka, who gave birth to her daughter Shai in 2023, won the 2018 and 2020 U.S. Open titles and the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open crowns.

Excitement For New Season

The 27-year-old Japanese player began her 2025 campaign at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, starting with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Israel’s Lina Glushko in the Round of 32 on Monday.

Osaka is competing in Auckland for the first time since playing at the ASB Tennis Arena in 2017 when she reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual finalist Ana Konjuh.

“I think 2024 humbled me, but I also feel like I grew a lot,” Osaka reflected on her campaign.

“I worked way harder than I’ve ever worked before. So in that, I guess it was very painful to not get the results I wanted, but I feel like I’m growing and learning and I am really excited for this year [2025].

“I played really good matches. People still talk to me about my Iga [Swiatek] match at the French Open,” she said referring to her hard-fought second-round defeat to the Polish player. “So I’m glad that I was able to give people memories as well.”

Osaka’s appearance at the ASB Classic, a WTA 250 tournament, marked her return to the court for the first time in two months after she suffered a back injury in the China Open in October.

She will use the tournament to prepare for the Australian Open, which will begin in Melbourne on January 12.

“Even though I got injured in Beijing, which was my last tournament, I feel pretty optimistic about how that match would have turned out [against Coco Gauff], and I am excited to play on hard court again,” she concluded.