Earlier this year, Naomi Osaka announced she was pregnant and said she was likely to return to competition at the Australian Open in 2024, and Serena Williams’ former coach believes the Japanese could return to the elite of women’s tennis.

>> Naomi Osaka responds to those who doubt her future in tennis

Naomi Osaka can become the leader of the WTA again, according to Rick Mackey

Osaka dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in 2021 when she cut her season short, saying she was trying to protect her mental health. In 2022, she fell again and finished the year ranked 42nd in the world. Osaka is currently not participating in WTA events as she is expecting her first child.

The Japanese is ranked 395th in the WTA rankings, but Rick McKee says the 25-year-old can once again become the world number one (previously in 2019). The famous coach believes that the Japanese woman will not lose her talent, powerful shots and serves.

“Naomi Osaka, next year, will return to the Top 10 in a flash at 100%. Don’t waste your flair, laser shots, or that explosive serve. Fitness and general confidence will take time, but with four Grand Slams under her belt, she knows what she’s up to.

She has the God-given ability to become the best in the world again. You cannot buy Grand Slam online.

She knows the big stage and she owned it. She has a weapon to deliver. Pressure can become her best friend again. You should never rule out a champion. You can’t do that when he comes back because he’s proven his worth.

And there are other players who can beat anyone on any given day. Although Iga overdid it a little, in my opinion. It also depends a little on the surface, but they can definitely create a rivalry, no doubt about it.

But women’s tennis is changing now, you know, Serena’s retired, Barty’s gone, Osaka’s about to have a baby, so at the end of the day, there’s not a lot of pedigree players left, so anything can happen.” Rick Mackeyreports Sportskeeda.

Naomi Osaka wants to win gold at the 2024 Olympics and 8 more Grand Slam titles

After giving birth, Naomi Osaka wants to return to training as soon as possible, and the first major tournament she wants to participate in is the Australian Open 2024

In addition, the Asian woman has big plans for the Olympic Games in Paris: she wants a gold medal in the women’s singles category.

Osaka is also not stingy about the Grand Slam titles she wants to win in her career: the Asian wants to add at least eight major tournaments to her resume.

What you need to know about Naomi Osaka

• At the age of 25, Naomi is currently ranked 395th in the WTA rankings.

• The Japanese has not played on the world circuit since the end of September 2022, when she withdrew from the tournament in Tokyo before her match with Beatrice Haddad Maia. At the time, Osaka blamed an abdominal muscle injury.

• During her career, the Japanese won four Grand Slam titles: Australian Open (2019, 2021) and US Open (2018, 2020).

• Born in the Japanese city of Osaka, Naomi rose to world No. 1 on January 28, 2019. She has seven WTA titles (4 of them Grand Slam), won 265 matches and lost 148.

• He collected $21,177,252 from tennis prizes alone.

• Although she has been away from tennis for many months and has only played 23 matches (14 wins and 9 losses) in the 2022 season, Naomi Osaka is doing very well when it comes to earning. Nippon tops the list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes in 2022 with earnings of $51 million.