Naomi Osaka’s Conversation With Jay Shetty That Every Sports Parent Should Hear
In her recent sit-down with Jay Shetty, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka shared a truth that will hit home for any sports parent: “I used to think losing meant my life was over.”
She wasn’t talking about retiring from tennis—she meant that a single loss could erase her entire sense of worth. One bad match, and it felt like everything she’d worked for, everything she believed she was, vanished. The scoreboard wasn’t just measuring her game; it was deciding if she mattered. For parents watching their kids compete, that’s not a distant pro-athlete problem—it’s the same silent pressure many young athletes are carrying right now.
A Childhood Built on Relentless Training
From the time she was 3, Osaka’s father had a vision. Inspired by Richard Williams, Osaka's father modeled her training after the blueprint used for Serena and Venus—long days on the court, sometimes up to eight hours, with the dream of molding a champion. That kind of discipline and drive built her into a world-class competitor, but it also hardwired the belief that her value came from her results. When winning becomes the goal from the start, it can be hard to untangle who you are from what you achieve.
Identity, Fear, and the Pressure to Perform
Osaka told Shetty that fear drove her early career: fear of losing, fear of not being good enough. “My whole identity as I knew it was being a tennis player," she said. "I would value … whether I won or lost.”
That’s the danger in letting results become the only definition of worth—kids start believing that if they aren’t winning, they aren’t valuable.
The Real Strength Is in the Stop
In 2021, Osaka withdrew from the French Open to protect her mental health. “What I was dealing with at the time … I didn’t want to see the outside world,"she said. Osaka had experienced “long bouts of depression” but still carried shame for stopping. Critics were quick to question her toughness—some accusing her of lacking the grit to handle pressure. But her decision to step away wasn’t weakness. It was self-preservation. And it was a visible act that told other athletes, young and old, that their wellbeing matters more than any tournament.
