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Naomi Osaka admitted she felt “a little bit like a failure” following her Abu Dhabi loss to Danielle Collins and seeing her losing streak grow to three consecutive matches early in her post-pregnancy comeback.
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, came to this week’s WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi hoping to find some rhythm and win a couple of matches, but it didn’t go as planned for the Japanese. On Tuesday, former world No. 1 Osaka kicked off and also concluded her Abu Dhabi run after 2022 Australian Open finalist Collins gave her a 7-5 6-0 defeat in the first round.
Before coming to Abu Dhabi, Osaka defeated Tamara Korpatsch in the Brisbane International first round before losing to Karolina Pliskova in her following Brisbane match and also ending on the losing side to Caroline Garcia in the Australian Open first round.
“I say some pretty harsh words about myself. I know the word, but if I say it, it sounds really bad. I felt a little like a ‘failure’, but I don’t want to be too harsh,” Osaka told AFP.
Osaka’s confidence has been shaken a bit
Hours after exiting the Abu Dhabi singles event, Osaka returned to the court for a doubles match with Ons Jabeur. In her team with…
