Tennis star Naomi Osaka announces she’s pregnant with a girl

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on June 2, 2023

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is pregnant with a girl.

Osaka, 25, shared photos on social media Friday from her baby shower, posing in front of a sign that reads, “A little princess is on the way.”

Osaka confirmed her pregnancy in January, sharing a photo of an ultrasound on Twitter.

“I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future,” she wrote. “One thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom.'”

Osaka continued, “2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024.”

Just before Osaka’s announcement, the Australian Open confirmed the two-time champion would not compete in this year’s Grand Slam tournament.

Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, released a children’s book, The Way Champs Play, in December.

She said on GMA while promoting the book that she hoped to return to tennis in 2023 after having an up-and-down season in 2022, playing in only 11 tournaments, according to ESPN. She dealt with several injuries during the season, including abdominal and right ankle injuries.

“For me, I feel like I’m a very curious person, so I’ve really been grateful to be given all these avenues to explore, and I am definitely looking forward to doing a lot of stuff,” she said, referring to her recent ventures, like becoming an author and launching a talent agency. “But I am a tennis player, so if I don’t play tennis for too long, I get an itch.”