Naomi Osaka names favorite Pokémon, talks US Open memories ahead of return

NEW YORK—Naomi Osaka once dreamed of being the best “like no one ever was.”

Years after she famously quoted the Pokémon theme song, enquiring minds wanted to know: who is Osaka’s favorite pocket monster?

More precisely, I wanted to know which of the 18 types best exemplified her as a person: did she see herself more of an elemental water, grass, or fire-type? Does she feel more electric on the court?

The former world No. 1 wasn’t as prepared for the question as I’d hoped at her 2024 US Open Media Day press conference.

“Have you asked Nick this?” she asked, mentioning fellow Pokémon fan Nick Kyrgios. “I feel like he would give you an immediate answer.”

Pondering her answer further, the two-time champion continues.

“So, I think for me, I will just tell you two of my favorite Pokémons, and then you can just go off those,” she says. “I like I'm going to say Charizard.

“Sorry. I used to be the water version, the turtle [Blastoise], but I think I changed my mind to Charizard.”

Unlike the OG fire-dragon, Osaka’s second favorite comes from more recent fare.

“It was like Pokémon X or Y. You know like the big dragon thing with the red wings, it's like...”

I correctly guess Yveltal, a mascot from the set of games that dropped in 2013.

“That one is my favorite,” she smiles. “Okay, that's embarrassing.”

Osaka would be forgiven for connecting with her inner child at the US Open, a tournament she grew up attending.

“Whenever I step foot here, I don't really think about the two tournaments I won,” she said as she prepares to play at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the first time since having her own child, daughter Shai. “I just think about how I felt when I was a kid.

“I have such vivid memories of watching my favorite players,” she continued, naming the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, and Rafael Nadal among her favorites. “It's more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy.”

A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka has been eager to return to New York since kicking off her comeback from maternity leave back in January, posting a heartfelt message on Instagram speaking to the difficulties she’s faced over the last eight months.

“I don't know if it's because I have never been from, like, clay to grass to clay to hard before,” she said, citing the switch from Wimbledon back to Paris for the Summer Olympic Games, “but I just felt like I wasn't able to hit the shots that I know I can hit. That was the most frustrating thing because I felt like I couldn't control the balls the way I wanted to.

“For me, I feel way better now,” she added. “Like, I'm able to practice at a really high level. I hope that I'm able to play matches at a really high level, too. But I definitely feel like I needed a lot of, like, practice time on hard courts.”

To reference another anime, might Osaka make good on her Sailor Moon hard-court vibes and take the US Open by storm? She will face No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round.