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The tennis champion called motherhood "so fulfilling."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2213248587-2bb682e128b14de9a4ff6e49d6cb4ba7.jpg "Naomi Osaka sitting in front of a microphone")
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Naomi Osaka speaking to the press during the Internazionali BNL D'Italia at Foro Italico.
- Naomi Osaka spoke candidly about motherhood in a new interview with Hello Magazine.
- The tennis champion described life as a working mom as both "fulfilling" and "tough."
- Osaka welcomed her daughter Shai in 2023 with her then-partner Cordae; the pair later confirmed they had broken up in early 2025.
Naomi Osaka is opening up about the realities of navigating life as a working mom. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Hello! Magazine, the 27-year-old tennis champion characterized her situation as "so fulfilling," albeit "tough."
"My career requires me to travel for most of the year, which makes it tough when I have to be away from my daughter so frequently, but I've got such a great support system around," she told the publication. "It takes a village, and I truly couldn't do it without mine."
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Naomi Osaka with her daughter Shai.
She continued, "Motherhood has definitely given me a broader perspective on life. Kids require so much patience, and I've definitely learned to be more patient through my daughter," adding, "I have a great team around me, and they are there with me during the highs and lows."
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Naomi Osaka playing in the fourth round of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia in Rome, Italy.
Osaka currently co-parents her daughter Shai with her ex-partner Cordae. The pair first sparked dating rumors in April 2019, which they later confirmed that July.
“I don’t really like to go to public with my personal life,” Cordae said at the time. “But if you just ask me [whether Osaka is my girlfriend], it’d be disrespectful to her if I said ‘Nah,’ at this point.”
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Naomi Osaka and Cordae at the 2025 Met Gala.
Osaka and Cordae made their Met Gala debut in September 2021; two years later, Osaka announced she was pregnant. Their daughter Shai arrived on July 11, 2023. The couple later announced their breakup in early 2025.
“We built a really good foundation,” Osaka told InStyle of their parenting style. “I don't know if it's because he's just an easygoing guy, but I think we just respect each other's opinions. And if we disagree on something, we talk it out. At the end of the day, we both want what's best for Shai.”
