For years, tennis star Naomi Osaka has been open about mental health, pressure, and the emotional toll that can come with being in the public eye. Now, the four-time Grand Slam champion is opening up about another deeply personal chapter of her life: motherhood.
In recent interviews with PEOPLE, Osaka shared that motherhood has brought emotional pressure, identity shifts, and the ongoing challenge of balancing elite competition with parenting a young child. She also revisited her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Shai, in 2023. Osaka shares her daughter, Shai, with rapper Cordae.
Osaka has been open in the past about how becoming a mother changed everything for her — not just her schedule, but her sense of self, her mental health, and the expectations she places on herself as a professional athlete and parent.
“I probably did feel a lot of pressure my first year back playing tennis,” she said about the heavy expectations she placed on herself after giving birth and returning to competition, explaining that she wanted “to do well and be amazing at everything.”
Osaka also reflected on the unrealistic standards many mothers set for themselves, saying she appreciates how conversations about mental health are beginning to shift how women approach motherhood.
“I feel like there’s always something that makes me feel like moms always want to do everything,” she said. “And I would say that’s a really tough ask that we put on ourselves.”
That pressure is something many mothers — especially high-achieving women — understand all too well. The expectation to bounce back quickly, succeed professionally, parent perfectly, and somehow still care for yourself can become emotionally exhausting.
Osaka admitted that one of the hardest lessons for her was learning how to ask for help.
“I’m the type of person that has a lot of pride,” she said. “I don’t like inconveniencing people.” But over time, she realized that accepting support “is not an inconvenience.”
That honesty matters, especially in a culture where many women feel pressure to silently “handle everything” on their own.
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Clinical research shows that postpartum depression affects roughly one in seven women, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, making it one of the most common complications of childbirth.
Symptoms can include persistent sadness, emotional numbness, anxiety, difficulty bonding with the baby, and feelings of overwhelm or loss of identity. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists notes that postpartum mood disorders are medical conditions — not personal failures — and are treatable with proper care and support.
In the PEOPLE feature tied to her documentary, “Naomi Osaka: The Second Set”, she shared that talking openly about postpartum depression is still difficult because she becomes emotional discussing it. Instead, she often writes her feelings down privately.
Her vulnerability feels especially important because postpartum mental health struggles are still under-discussed in many Black communities, despite how common they are.
Osaka’s openness adds to a growing number of public figures helping normalize conversations around maternal mental health, particularly for women navigating high-pressure careers alongside new motherhood.
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Despite the challenges, Osaka says becoming a mother has also brought joy and perspective.
In her recent interview, she described her daughter as “a light” in her life and said learning not to chase perfection has helped her emotionally.
Instead of trying to perfectly balance every role at once, Osaka says she’s learning to accept that different parts of her life may require different things at different times.
“Everything has its place,” she explained.
That mindset may sound simple, but for many mothers — especially women navigating careers, caregiving, relationships, and mental health simultaneously — it can be revolutionary.
Osaka’s openness arrives at an important time. Conversations around maternal mental health have become more visible in recent years, but many women still feel isolated after giving birth.
Celebrity stories alone do not solve systemic gaps in maternal care or mental health access. But they can help normalize conversations that too often happen behind closed doors.
And for mothers quietly struggling with postpartum depression, anxiety, overwhelm, or identity changes after childbirth, hearing someone like Naomi Osaka say “I needed help too” can make a real difference.
Because motherhood is not just about surviving the beautiful moments people post online. Sometimes it’s also about exhaustion, identity shifts, fear, healing, and learning that asking for support does not make you weak.
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