Usually, when an athlete takes time away from their sport, it tends to get heavy on their confidence and makes them feel like it is difficult to get their place back. However, things were quite the opposite for Naomi Osaka. When she took some time away from tennis, she was able to turn that time into making her feel more confident and build her life outside of tennis.

This not only helped her understand that she could be okay with being away from the sport and have a purpose outside of it but also built her net worth of $50 million.

Naomi Osaka’s off-court success proved that she could survive without tennis

Naomi Osaka recently appeared for an interview where she talked about how winning at the Indian Wells in 2018 changed her life. And then taking the time off while she had her daughter proved to be another turning point in her life.

Osaka shared, “I had to take time off from tennis to have Shai, I was able to prove to myself that not only could I excel in the sport I love, but I could also do meaningful things off the court. That was a big turning point for me. Forming Evolve and Hana Kuma, developing Kinlò, designing for Nike — it all reminded me that I don’t only have to rely on tennis.”

Her off-court endeavors, be it creating her own company, working with topmost sports brands like Nike, and getting customized branding done by them, made Naomi Osaka secure about her life even outside the sport. Even though taking a break from tennis has helped her in a lot of ways, it came at a cost, which included criticism.

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Osaka talks about the criticism she received because of stepping away from tennis

In the same interview, Naomi Osaka opened up about the criticism she received as she took breaks from tennis. She stated, “The criticism was really hard to manage at the time, but I think that it made me stronger.” Osaka also talked about how the breaks are important for her because they help her feel self-love and ignite her passion.

However, that is never easy because of the internet. She added, “Part of being a professional athlete is dealing with internet trolls and even fans in the arenas who like to heckle players. It used to get to my head.” However, she also mentioned that now he has become stronger and stopped caring about this.

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