Naomi Osaka is pregnant with her first child, she revealed Wednesday via social media.
“Can’t wait to get back on the court, but here’s a little life update for 2023,” she wrote, along with a photo of an ultrasound and a note to her fans in English and Japanese.
The 25-year-old tennis star aims to return to the court for the 2024 Australian Open, she said in the note.
Naomi Osaka announces she is expecting her first child 💜 pic.twitter.com/xBPpXeioaP
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) January 11, 2023
The Australian Open last week had announced Osaka’s withdrawal from the 2023 tournament, which starts Monday. Osaka has won the tournament twice, in 2019 and 2021.
The four-time major singles champion last played in September at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Osaka won her first match against Daria Saville, who retired due to injury during the first set, but withdrew ahead of her second-round match due to abdominal pain.
“These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to,” she wrote Wednesday.
The No. 47 player in the world, Osaka has not advanced past the first round in her last three tournaments, including the U.S. Open in August.
Still, her business ventures are booming. She topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid female athletes in the world with $51.1 million in earnings in 2022. To start 2023, she signed world No. 2 Ons Jabeur to her sports management agency, Evolve.
“I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future,” Osaka wrote. “One thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch some of my matches and tell someone, ‘That’s my mom.'”