10 Burning Questions in 2022: What can we expect from Naomi Osaka’s return to tennis?

ABOVE: Tennis Channel Live discusses Naomi Osaka's chances of returning to the tour in 2022 and the importance of mental health.

BELOW: As we approach the start of the new tennis season, we'll answer 10 thought-provoking questions that may define the game in 2022.

With a Twitter post and an airplane selfie, Naomi Osaka confirmed to fans that she is on her way to Australia to begin the new season Down Under.

For any other top player, it’s news that would have normally gone unnoticed among the preseason travel shuffle; a given, as she’s the defending Australian Open champion. But such was the year that Osaka had that even this formality was up in the air.

It’s been nearly four months since the last time we saw Osaka at a professional tennis tournament, after her surprise third-round exit at the US Open. That final image of Osaka, hiding her tearful face behind her visor, telling the press that she wasn’t sure when she’d play next, marked the end of her tumultuous 2021 season.

It was a sorry way to close out what was supposed to be a year of celebration for Osaka, who started on a high by winning her fourth Grand Slam title and was looking forward to contesting the rescheduled Olympic Games on her home turf in Japan.

The spotlight was indeed firmly on Osaka in 2021, but for different reasons. The Japanese player unwittingly sparked a global discussion when she announced ahead of Roland Garros that she would not take part in any press obligations in order to protect her mental health.

Though the backlash was swift and severe, the conversations around athletes and mental health, as well as the role of media in sport, reverberated far beyond the world of tennis: NBA star Stephen Curry voiced his support, while American gymnast Simone Biles cited Osaka as a source of encouragement after her own emotional withdrawal from the Olympics.

“We’ve never had, in our sport, a ‘great one’—especially on the women’s side—be so open about their struggles and vulnerabilities,” Lindsay Davenport told Tennis Channel Live. “As a top player you’re always told, ‘Keep it to yourself, project only strength, don’t give too much away in interviews.’ What a breath of fresh air this has been. It’s been a real learning moment for so many people.”

Osaka ultimately chose to withdraw from Roland Garros and skip Wimbledon to mentally regroup, but her woes didn’t end there. She played three more tournaments including the Olympics and US Open, but uncharacteristic early defeats to lower-ranked opponents, as well as increased scrutiny, prompted her to shut down her season for good.

"I hope I was able to help some people and for them to see that even athletes are still humans like the rest of us. And we all are dealing with something in our lives," she later reflected.

Osaka has long been open about her struggles with motivation and depression—even before the global spotlight and media pressure arrived. In 2018, with just one Indian Wells title to her name, she wrote about feeling depressed in practice as she struggled to cope with her recent successes. In 2019, a year in which she won the Australian Open, Osaka revealed she was trying to relearn how to have fun on the court and forcing herself to smile at her own errors.

“For some reason when I was there, I wasn't enjoying it at all. Like, I was playing my match on, you know, the Centre Court in Wimbledon, and honestly, I would have rather been anywhere else,” she said in 2019.

“When I lost in the first round, I was just, like, I need to start having fun, because you train your whole life for moments like that, and if you're not happy in those moments, then there's no point.”

Two years, a couple more Grand Slam titles and an ever-growing stardom later, Osaka finds herself back in a familiar place: once again reevaluating her relationship with tennis and trying to reconnect with the old joy of playing the game.

You train your whole life for moments like that, and if you're not happy in those moments, then there's no point. Naomi Osaka

So what can we expect from Osaka this time around, as she prepares for her first matches in almost four months?

Some patience might be necessary. Even in a normal year, the Japanese player struggles with consistency: Osaka won just one title each year in 2020 and 2021—although those titles were the US Open and Australian Open. In fact, of the 24-year-old’s seven career titles, four are at the Grand Slam level, and two more are WTA 1000s.

Currently ranked No. 13, Osaka returns to Melbourne as the reigning champion. She has never successfully defended a Grand Slam title, but she has won one every year since 2018. Her powerful serve and booming groundstrokes make her nearly untouchable when at her world-beating best.

But for Osaka, it might depend less on her own racquet and skills, and more on what is happening outside of the lines. With the right headspace and work-life balance to juggle mental health, endorsements, celebrity and entrepreneurship with the weekly tennis grind—and the motivation to keep challenging herself to reach greater heights, there’s no reason to doubt we will see Osaka’s return to the winners’ circle in 2022.