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Tennis star Naomi Osaka, 25, made waves after withdrawing from the 2021 French Open to be able to look after her psychological well being. Looking again on it, Osaka is glad she took a while off to get the assistance she wanted, however she admits it didn’t really feel nice on the time.
In a current interview with “Good Morning America,” Osaka mentioned she initially felt “ashamed” for taking a break for just a few months to be able to enhance her psychological well being. However, in that point, she realized an especially priceless lesson.
“I type of felt prefer it was essential, however I type of felt ashamed in that second,” Osaka mentioned. “As an athlete, you are informed to be robust and push via every part. I feel I realized that it is higher to regroup and deal with the sentiments that you’ve got in that second, and you may come again stronger.”
The subsequent time Osaka took the court docket was on the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, the place she acquired loads of optimistic suggestions from her fellow athletes. Appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” this week, the four-time Grand Slam winner mentioned she was shocked by all of the help.
“Actually, I used to be type of huddled up in my home for some time after that entire factor occurred, after which I went to the Olympics,” Osaka mentioned. “There have been so many athletes that got here as much as me, and I used to be so stunned and so honored as a result of these are folks I watch on TV. I felt actually grateful, and I felt actually supported. It was actually cool.”
