The four-time Grand Slam champion took a break from the sport earlier this year to protect her mental health, but told reporters she now feels grateful for her condition.
She also pledged to donate her earnings from this week’s Western and Southern Open to support earthquake relief efforts in the country where her father lives.
At the press conference after his victory against Coco Gough on Wednesday, he also referred to the tragic scenes in Afghanistan as people try to flee the new Taliban regime.
“I think given the state of the world, how everything is in Haiti, how everything is in Afghanistan right now, is definitely really crazy,” she told reporters.
“For me to hit a tennis ball in the United States right now and have more people come and watch me play, I don’t know, like I would like myself in this position more than anyone else in the world.”
‘It’s an achievement in itself’
The 23-year-old cited mental health concerns and said he had trouble talking to the media, experiencing anxiety and depression during the tournament.
In preparation for her first tennis tournament appearance since the Tokyo Olympics, she took a brief break during a pre-tournament press conference on Monday after she started crying.
“I was wondering why I was so impressed, I guess. Not the way I wanted to do media in the first place,” she continued.
“Sometimes, I see the headlines of players losing and then the next day the title goes ‘collapsed’ or ‘They’re not that great anymore.’
“Then I was thinking, I wake up every day, I must feel like I’m winning. The choice to go out there and play, for the fans to see, for people to come out and watch me play, this Your achievement.
“I’m not sure when I started it along the way.”
Osaka noted that over the past year the COVID-19 regulations surrounding tennis have exacerbated the issue.
The players had to live in a tight bubble during the tournament to prevent the spread of cases.
“It wasn’t an achievement for me, so I felt very ungrateful at the fact,” she said.
“I think of course this whole Covid thing was very tense because the bubbles weren’t seeing people and not interacting.”
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