The 2026 season hasn’t been anything impressive for Naomi Osaka. She hasn’t been able to capture a single title and has a win-loss record of 30-12. She hasn’t won a Grand Slam in the last five years and has remained out of the top 10 for long periods of time. But it turns out that tennis isn’t Osaka’s main priority as of current and she is unsure for how long she will continue playing at the top level.

“It’s tough, sometimes I look towards my future, and I often wonder how long I’m going to play,” she said in a press conference ahead of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. “Because if my daughter did say she didn’t want me to travel as much, I’m not the type of person to ignore that.”

Osaka also admitted that while she loves tennis and is happy with what she has achieved, she simply can’t dedicate all of her time to the sport. She now also has to take care of her three-year-old daughter Shai and thus isn’t able to dedicate all of her time to tennis.

“I try my best to put as much energy as I can into tennis. I wouldn’t say I’m part-timing it, but my entire day doesn’t consist of that. If I think about it in certain ways, I’m really proud of where I am now because it’s not like I can dedicate my entire time to the sport,” she added.

The Japanese has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but hasn’t been able to win when it matters the most. For context, she reached the final of the Bad Homburg Open earlier in June, but had to retire while trailing 6-1, 1-0 against Karolina Muchova due to injury. She then defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. But Muchova got the better of her again in the next round.

The hard-court season has also been pretty average for Osaka so far. Elena Rybakina defeated her at both the Canadian and US Open before she tasted defeat against Muchova once again, this time in the Round of 16 of the China Open.

Osaka’s results have been decent, but a player of her caliber is expected to achieve much more. Ranked No. 18, she has stayed out of the top 10 the whole season. Her best results came in July and August, when she reached the No. 13 spot in the rankings. With barely any tournaments remaining and Osaka being out of contention for the WTA Finals, she would definitely want to end the year on a high. Luckily for her, she will have the opportunity to do so in front of her home fans.

Naomi Osaka will lock horns against Jasmine Paolini in Tokyo

Osaka’s next and possibly final tournament of the year is the Pan Pacific Open. The tournament will be held in Tokyo, and Osaka will undoubtedly be the fan favorite. She is scheduled to take on Jasmine Paolini in the opening round, which is expected to be quite a close affair.

The two have previously met just once in a tour-level match. Paolini had emerged victorious on that occasion, defeating Osaka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16 at the 2025 Miami Open.

Like Osaka, Paolini is also out of the race for the WTA Finals and has had a pretty average Asian swing so far. She was knocked out in the first round of the China Open by Daria Snigur before Sonay Kartal dominated her 6-2, 6-0 in the Round of 16 in Wuhan.

The Ningbo Open wasn’t any better, as Iva Jovic defeated Paolini 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16. It is clear that, like Osaka, Paolini is also aiming to end the season on a positive note, and it remains to be seen which one of them will come out on top in Tokyo,