CLAPPING BACK

Naomi Osaka Slams Critics Questioning Her Tennis Future After Pregnancy

In January, Osaka announced her pregnancy and that she would be absent from the sport for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka isn’t letting her doubters slide. As the four-time Grand Slam champion prepares for motherhood alongside her boyfriend, rapper Cordae, Osaka clapped back at critics skeptical of her tennis future post-pregnancy. “Btw to the people that are suddenly concerned about my career—there are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead,” Osaka tweeted Friday. “Not trying to make this a male and female thing but let’s be [for real],” she added in a subsequent post. In January, Osaka announced her pregnancy and that she would be absent from the sport for the remainder of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old maintains that she has every intention of returning to the sport, and is expected to be back for the 2024 Australian Open.