NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 3, 2026

Naomi Osaka

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Naomi, welcome back to Toronto. Coming off from Washington, does that give you any motivation going into this tournament?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, obviously I did better than last year in DC, so I'm just hoping to keep the ball rolling.

I haven't historically played super, super well here, so I'm just hoping to change that this year.

THE MODERATOR: If you have a question, please raise your hand.

Q. You did have a pretty good run last year in Montreal, in Canada, so I'm just wondering, overall, playing here in this country many times, what kind of vibe does Canada give you?

NAOMI OSAKA: Well, today's my first day here, but I feel like I say this every time: Everyone's just super nice.

I would say the vibe I get, it's hard to say without playing the first match. Like, obviously I can try to recall Montreal, but I would like to kind of treat the cities separately. So I would hope that everyone's, like, super energetic and just excited to see some really good tennis.

Q. Kei Nishikori is retiring at the end of the year, but you guys are going to be playing US Open mixed doubles. Not sure if you guys have played at Olympics or Hopman Cup, but what does it mean to you to share the court with him one last time. I know you've talked so highly of him and what he's done for Japanese tennis.

NAOMI OSAKA: It means a lot to me just to play, I guess, in like a big stage with him. We've played mixed doubles once for his charity and we lost pretty badly, so hopefully that doesn't happen this time around.

But, yeah, I mean, it means a lot. Especially just seeing his career, his growth, and kind of a really big honor for me also that he's choosing to do this with me.

Q. This is a busy part of the calendar, a lot of matches in a short period of time. What do you hope to get from these tournaments leading up to the US Open in terms of your game on the hard courts?

NAOMI OSAKA: On my end, I would just hope to gain a lot of confidence leading into New York. I think I've been able to get like two solid matches under my belt, so just hopefully continuing to build that.

I lost my last match, but it's helped me figure out what I want to do exactly, or how I want to take my tennis. So I just hope to continue that, yeah.

Q. We just had a young Canadian in here, Kayla Cross, who won her first-ever WTA match.

NAOMI OSAKA: Oh, wow.

Q. I'm wondering if you remember back to your first win at the WTA level and what that meant for you at the time?

NAOMI OSAKA: I think my first match was in Stanford, my first WTA match. I think. I'm not so sure.

It really meant a lot to me. Especially just walking around the grounds or in the locker room. I was too scared to go in the locker room.

But it was like all these people that I've seen on TV, you know, growing up and admiring. Just to share the same space with them and share the same courts, it was a really cool experience, so for me that's what I remember.

Q. Was there a particular moment or a pro that you met at that time where you were like a little star struck, feeling like, Oh, my gosh, I've really made it to sort of the big time, you know?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, so in that tournament I played Stosur, and I was like really star struck, but I like somehow won that match.

Then the tournament knew that I was a big Serena fan, so they basically, like, had like a private meet and greet. Like, I was able to take a picture with Serena, so that was really cool.

I remember I played Cornet and I lost that. But those were all people that I've watched on TV, so it was really like low-key like a fan meeting.

Q. You've had your best results this year in your career at the French Open and Wimbledon. Just kind of curious, how do you think you're a different player now than maybe you were earlier in your career?

NAOMI OSAKA: I would say I'm a different player now, well, in regards to grass, I feel a lot more comfortable coming into the net and just being aggressive and accepting the mistakes.

So I am curious to see, like as this U.S. season, like, goes longer, how that would affect my hard court game.

Q. About a year ago you teamed up with Tomas. Curious, how has he kind of brought out your best tennis out of you?

NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, it's been a wild ride. We were kind of talking about that in DC.

I would say he's brought out the best tennis, well, I mean, he kind of just tells me the truth all the time. Like, obviously we're in this together, but there are moments where I dip and he'll like tell me like, Hey, he's like, You need to get it together, or things like that. But on the court he's a really great coach.

I don't know, I just feel like we work really well together, so I'm excited to continue.

Q. Just to flip my last question on you about feeling star struck when you were starting out, do you find there's many moments like that these days where now you're the one that people are looking up to, and do you sort of embrace and realize that you're such a role model on the WTA tour?

NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, I don't feel that way. I think from my end I'm pretty much the same as everyone else. But there's just so many really good young players now, and in a way I feel like I kind of admire them, because I admire how, like, fearless they are, they kind of just take it to you.

So, yeah, if there's anyone that admires me, then they should know that I admire them as well.