Osaka reveals illness catch from daughter behind flat United Cup debut
A visibly struggling Naomi Osaka admitted to operating well below full capacity during her 6-4, 6-2 loss to Maria Sakkari, confirming a persistent respiratory virus has hampered her start to 2026.
Naomi Osaka, 2025 | © Imago / PsNewz
Naomi Osaka spent much of her post-match press conference on Friday explaining the “nasty stuff” that hindered her performance in Japan’s opening tie against Greece. Despite her straight-sets defeat 6-4, 6-2 against World No.52 Maria Sakkari, the world No. 16 remained surprisingly candid about her physical and mental state.
Osaka was seen coughing throughout the 93-minute match and appeared to lack her usual explosive energy. She traced the illness back to her household:
“I’m not operating at the percent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks because I had a really good off-season. Then I got really sick. Honestly, it’s been a minute… I think I got it from my daughter [Shai] around Christmas Eve.”
Despite the symptoms, the US Open semifinalist expressed a sense of relief just to be competing: “I’ve been dealing with some health stuff, so I’m kind of just happy to be out here right now. It’s not like serious, but yeah… hopefully it goes away before the Australian Open.”
Osaka on Tactical “Predictability” and Nerves
Osaka, a four-time Major winner, struggled with three double faults and multiple aborted ball tosses in her opening service game. However, she refused to blame the virus for her technical lapses:
“I definitely wouldn’t blame [the serve] on being sick. I was just really nervous so my hand was shaking a little bit. That’s definitely from my end that comes the first match of the year.”
Reflecting on the match flow, Osaka echoed Sakkari’s assessment that the backhand “down-the-line” was the deciding factor, while admitting to a mental block regarding her own aggression:
“I feel like I definitely could have been more aggressive on the returns… but [I’m] learning not to be afraid of mistakes. I’ve known about [being predictable] since the US Open. I’m kind of afraid to make mistakes, so just trying to break that limitation in my mind.”
Representing Japan for the first time at the United Cup, Osaka noted that the collective environment provided the necessary push to finish the match:
“You feel the team atmosphere, it makes you want to go out and do your best and do something. I feel very apologetic that I couldn’t get the win… we’re all here to try our best. If it doesn’t work out, it sucks, but we’re going to just try again another day.”
United Cup Group E:
Greece def. Japan 3-0
Perth (RAC Arena) — January 2, 2026
- Women’s Singles: Maria Sakkari def. Naomi Osaka | 6-4, 6-2
- Men’s Singles: Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Shintaro Mochizuki | 6-3, 6-4
- Mixed Doubles: Sakkari/Tsitsipas def. Hibino/Uchiyama | 6-2, 6-3
