Naomi Osaka is back in the United States after a dramatic start to the year for one of the biggest stars in tennis.
She was courtside in Brooklyn on Wednesday night to see the Nets take on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA, with Kevin Durant scoring 24 points on his return to his old team to lead the Suns to a 108-84 win.
The four-time major winner went out in the third round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the tennis calendar, earlier in January after withdrawing midway through her match with Belinda Bencic with an abdominal strain.
It came days after the 27-year-old announced a split from the rapper Cordae. They first began dating in 2019, and welcomed daughter Shai four years later in the summer of 2023.
But Osaka, in early January, wrote in a statement posted to her Instagram story that her and Cordae are ‘no longer in a relationship.’
‘No bad blood at all, he’s a great person and an awesome dad,’ she continued.
Naomi Osaka recently announced that her and rapper Cordae had broken up after five years
Osaka withdrew from the Australian Open after sustaining an injury in the third round
‘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.’
Before the Australian Open, she reached the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland before retiring due to injury after winning the first set.
She later wrote on threads: ”All jokes aside I do really want to thank my team and everyone close to me for having my back and keeping me sane (though that’s debatable LOL), I’m truly very grateful.
‘And I do really want to thank my friends all around the world (I think saying fans is a disservice). I’ve always said it feels like we’re going through this journey together and I really hope you’re having as much fun as I am.’
Osaka has continued to round back into form after missing the entirety of the 2023 season on maternity leave.
She upset world No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the US Open, and her run in Auckland was her first final appearance in nearly three years.
After withdrawing from Melbourne with an abdominal strain, she said: ‘I kind of have a history of it, since I was a teenager.
‘At least once a year, I’d get an ab strain. For me, I want to say it’s more the way my serve is, it’s quite explosive.’
