ROLAND GARROS

May 23, 2026

Naomi Osaka

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Naomi, welcome back to Roland Garros. How has your preparation been?

NAOMI OSAKA: I think it's been good. I played some good matches in Madrid and Rome, so I'm pretty happy about that. Hopefully I can play a couple of matches here too.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You refer to Gael as the GOAT often. Can you explain that, please? His importance to, I guess you as a player, a young Black player, seeing him being there for so long when you were growing up.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, honestly for me, seeing representation is so important, and on the women's side, you know, we have had, well, for me growing up, I have had Serena and Venus, so I was so grateful to them.

On the men's side I always looked up to him and Tsonga for such a long time. I think it's just so important. And obviously there is a wave of Black French guys coming up. I can see that he's inspired, hopefully he's inspired, well, I know for sure he's inspired a lot of players here.

I don't know. I just really love the way he carries himself, the way he represents us, and he's just such a really cool guy. It's nice to talk to him now, because we talk about our kids. I don't know. It's just a funny thing to have in common with him.

Q. After the stir you caused at the Australian Open with your ensemble...

NAOMI OSAKA: What stir?

Q. Excitement? What word would you choose for what you caused? After your big walk-on look at the Australian Open, do you have anything planned for here? Also, just how much sort of life does it give you being extra in those ways?

NAOMI OSAKA: LOL. Not extra (smiling).

Q. I think it was undoubtedly extra, in a good way.

NAOMI OSAKA: I feel like fashion, for me, I tell people, I don't talk a lot, so that way I can talk through my clothes. That means I can be as loud with colors or patterns or fabric as I want.

But, I mean, I definitely would say I'm doing something here too. But I think that's the fun part, you know. I feel like we lost that a little in tennis. I always tell people I grew up with, you know, Serena's and Venus's grand reveals. I literally can look at a picture and probably tell you what year that outfit came from.

I know there are some kids or some people that are similar to me that hopefully feel that same way about my outfits. But, yeah, I am a little dramatic when it comes to my fashion sense.

Q. Picking up on that in terms of not talking a lot and showing things in other ways, you don't give up a lot of emotion on the court in terms of, you know, you're kind of like hard to read and poker face. Was that always the case? Were you ever a sort of extrovert on the court in ways, like when you were growing up, and then controlled your emotions?

NAOMI OSAKA: Honestly, I had a pretty bad attitude when I was younger, and my dad had a stern talk to me about it, and ever since then, I was, like, Oh, oh, no.

But it's kind of funny. I probably shouldn't be saying this, but it's funny to hear you say I'm, like, poker face, because for me I feel like my facial expressions change a lot, and I actually curse a lot. You know that Miranda Cosgrove meme, she's like, I actually curse a lot.

No, I actually do curse a lot on the court. I think I say it so softly you can't hear it, and I'm really glad, because I don't want to get fined for that.

Q. I wanted to ask you about fame and your relationship with the idea of fame, how it changed over the years, and if you remember the first time you realized, I actually have a degree of fame? As someone who is somewhat introverted, I'm wondering how comfortable are you at this point with everything you have done with the idea of being famous?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, honestly, for me, I don't know, but I have never felt like I was famous. I feel like I have traveled the world, and there has been people that have known of me, but I'm really grateful that I'm not famous, because I like to, you know, be able to go outside, walk around, do all that stuff.

I think it's cool that there is people that say that I have inspired them or I have meant a lot to them in certain points of their life, but my dream is to not be famous.

Q. Braids look great.

NAOMI OSAKA: Yours too.

Q. When your dad had that talking to you when you were little, what was the message that he was saying? You're going to lose tennis points if you can't keep it under control? Or it's unbecoming? What was he trying to convince you of in that conversation?

NAOMI OSAKA: Honestly, it was more like, You're putting energy into the wrong things. Like, I wouldn't celebrate if I won, but I would, like, be extremely down if I lost.

You know, maybe I still do that sometimes, so that is why I try to be, like, really pumped up and vocal. I think sometimes I could either do better or I could do less. Yeah, just celebrate your wins more and try not to celebrate your losses.

Q. Speaking of cursing, how and why did you find your password to your burner account on Instagram?

NAOMI OSAKA: Oh, that's not a safe place either, I see.

Q. It was a few thousand followers. Also curious, could you explain, I think it's dried anchovies?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I felt so Asian with that snack. Yeah, it's like if you go to the Asian supermarket, they have, like, these little dried fishes. For me, I really love them. It kind of reminds me of obviously Japan and eating them with a big bowl of rice.

It was funny, I came to the court with them, and Mati, he's Argentinian, and he really has a strong preference of things that he can and can't eat. He was freaking out so bad.

So, yeah, I would say, for me, the dried anchovies, a nice snack. I don't like eating bananas all the time.

Q. (Question off microphone.)

NAOMI OSAKA: I don't know. I regretted it almost instantly. It's, like, weird for me. It stresses me out to post, so obviously there is someone that does that for me, but it's like that concept of sharing my life.

I feel like I have become a lot more private after my daughter has been born, just because there has been like a few safety concerns. But I feel like I want to be connected to people at the same time, so it's like I'm on, I would say, a balancing rope.

Q. Back to Gael, I remember when you used to do those Instagram Lives, and he was one of them. Wondering when you look back at that period, that was a big deal for you to actually interact with other players. Can you look back a little bit about that, that conversation with Gael. If you see how you are now, because you mentioned that when you came back on tour you felt more open with everyone, do you think that would have benefited you earlier in your career, or were you happy to be in your shell earlier in your career?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, that's a tough question, because obviously I have gotten to know so many people now at this point, but it's taken years for me to open up.

I feel like for me that's growing pains. I would have to change my whole personality. Obviously a huge part of me, like, growing up and forcing myself to be more extroverted came with having my daughter, so I wouldn't change anything. Obviously I would have loved to know everyone more sooner.

But, yeah, I wouldn't, I guess, dramatically change. Also, like, for example with Gael, I had a dinner yesterday, he was there, and I invited a bunch of other players, so I felt so extroverted in that moment, and it was just really cool.

(Naomi's answers to questions in Japanese.)

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I feel like the clay season this year, it's been a little bit hard to judge for me. Like, I felt like I was playing well in Madrid, but then obviously I played Sabalenka and I lost there. For me, I felt like I had my chances, which was a good takeaway.

And then we went into Rome, which was a completely different type of clay, so I had to adjust there. I thought I played, like, my first two matches really well, and then, like, Iga said, Hell, no. She slapped me in the ground (smiling). I was, like, That was a little crazy.

Honestly, that blew my confidence a lot, but I just had to step away, knowing that she's like the best clay court player, and I still have a lot to learn. The score was wild, but it was a little bit closer, like, there was a lot of deuce games or whatever.

I think a lot of people know me for being a really good hard court player, and I hope that I can eventually start doing better in the other surfaces, too.

I talked with Tomasz, and he said it's crazy I have only been to the third round here. Hopefully we can go further this year.

Yeah, I mean, I think for me it's kind of the same, like, Kei is retiring, Monfils is retiring. It's really sad. But it's also I'm so grateful for everything they have done for the sport, especially me, being Japanese, being able to look up to him, seeing everything he's achieved, in a world where, you know, like, Japanese tennis hasn't been able to go as far as he did in that moment in time, and it was just so inspiring, and I wanted to stand next to him, you know, as the female representative.

So I'm really glad that I was able to do that, and I wish that, you know, I was able to do it quicker, you know, to be able to, like, hold the flag with him for a longer time. I don't know. I'm grateful for everything that he's done, and I want to see him play tennis one more time.