Tokyo Olympics: Naomi Osaka lights cauldron to mark opening of Games

By Sports Desk July 23, 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were declared open on Friday, with the global face of Japanese sport, Naomi Osaka, given the honour of lighting the cauldron.

Osaka carried the torch on its short final leg at the newly-built Japan National Stadium before walking the steps to light the flame and end an opening ceremony that took place with no spectators, save for 1,000 delegates and the athletes from 205 countries.

The four-time grand slam champion is the face of the Games for the host country, having become the first Japanese player to win a major title at the 2018 US Open.

She followed that success with victory at the 2019 Australian Open that saw her become the first Asian player to be ranked number one in the world in singles.

Though she followed up another success in New York by winning again in Australia in 2021, it has been a tumultuous year for Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open after the first round to protect her well-being having caused controversy by electing not to take part in post-match media conferences.

She subsequently skipped Wimbledon but will be back in action in Tokyo, where she is competing in the Olympics for the first time.

And, regardless of what happens on the court, it is a Games she will forever remember, with Osaka's lighting of the cauldron the defining image of a unique opening ceremony.

 

 

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    Osaka is playing her first grand slam tournament since the US Open in 2022 after giving birth to daughter Shai last summer.

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    “Just going into the locker room and having the same locker as before, I think little things like that really make me happy,” said Osaka.

    “Just being able to hit on Rod Laver, I guess, look up at the sky and kind of realise, I’ve been able to win twice here. I would love to do it again.

    “Definitely it is hard because I do think of all the amazing memories that I’ve had. I also think, in my head, who am I to just come back in the second tournament and expect so much from myself, especially against the best players in the world?

    “Even hitting today with Ons (Jabeur), I caught myself getting a little disappointed in myself when I would make some mistakes. But I’m hitting against Ons. I think it’s just one of those things where I now think to myself that I have to give myself a lot of time and patience.”

    Osaka cuts a notably happier figure than the player who struggled with her mental health during 2022 and contemplated stepping away from the sport completely.

    Time and a new perspective as a mother has given Osaka, who is also a two-time winner of the US Open, a different outlook on her career.

    “I’ve taken a lot of breaks throughout the years,” she said. “I think this one was the one that finally clicked in my head. I think I realised, being an athlete, that time is really precious. (Before) I was young and I felt like I could kind of roll back into it whenever I needed to.

    “I guess after having Shai, going through the struggle of trying to get myself back to where I want to be, it was incredibly tough.

    “I have a much more positive mindset and a much more grateful mindset. I think overall I’m just happy to be here because I remember last year I was watching people playing Australian Open, and I couldn’t participate myself.”

    Osaka has not travelled to Australia with Shai, who has stayed back home in the USA.

    “It’s definitely been really hard,” she said. “She’s learning things while I’m gone. I’m hoping she doesn’t learn how to crawl before I come back. She’s doing her little plank thing and scooting forward and back. I think it might be a little inevitable.

    “I’m definitely sad, but I feel like it’s a selfish sad because I want her to be here. But I think, for her health, her whole environment is at home. I don’t want to put her out of that while she’s still so young. I FaceTime her often.”

    Osaka, who joins fellow former champions Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber as mothers making their Australian Open returns, has a tricky first-round draw against 16th seed Caroline Garcia.

    She is happy how her body has reacted to playing matches again, saying: “There has been stiffness and soreness but honestly not as bad as I was expecting. Even without having gone through post-pregnancy, I’m normally very sore on the first tournament back.

    “But it ended up really fine. I think my body’s quite adaptable. I think I’ve been doing pretty well. I’m pretty confident with where I’m at right now.”

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    No fewer than three past winners at Melbourne Park were due to make their comebacks after long absences. An untimely muscle injury suffered on his return to action in Brisbane has unfortunately sidelined Rafael Nadal, who has not played in a grand slam since sustaining a hip problem in Melbourne 12 months ago. But two-time champion Naomi Osaka returns following the birth of daughter Shai last summer with an apparent renewed hunger for life on tour while 2016 winner Angelique Kerber is another new mother back for more.

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    Could Emma Raducanu’s eight-month break following surgery on both wrists and one ankle turn out to be the making of her? Stepping out of the whirlwind that engulfed following her 2021 US Open win has given the 21-year-old the chance for a fresh start and will hopefully allow her to establish a more solid base. She has turned to childhood coach Nick Cavaday for guidance but continues to travel without a full-time physio or fitness trainer. She gave a reminder of her talent in an encouraging first tournament back in Auckland last week but the major question mark remains whether her body can hold up to the rigours of the professional game.

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    Andy Murray conjured up two of his more memorable wins in Australia last year, seeing off Matteo Berrettini in five sets and then somehow fighting back to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4am. The Scot played at his best level since hip surgery in 2023 yet it was another season of frustration and near misses rather than the sort of achievements he craves. Murray cut a particularly unhappy figure at the end of the year and is openly talking about how long he has left. If this is the 36-year-old’s last appearance at Melbourne Park, hopefully it will be one to remember for the right reasons.

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    Osaka’s opening-round match in Brisbane last week was her first since September 2022. It was last January when the Japanese player revealed she was expecting her first child and would miss the season. Baby Shai arrived in July and the break appears to have given Osaka, who missed major chunks of 2022 because of her mental health, a new perspective and a fresh hunger for the sport. Melbourne Park’s courts suit the 26-year-old well, and the 2019 and 2021 champion will be a name other players will hope to avoid in the draw.

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    While not sidelined for as long as Nadal or Osaka, Raducanu has not played a grand-slam match since a second-round loss to Coco Gauff in Melbourne 12 months ago. After battling consistent niggling injuries since her US Open triumph, in May the 21-year-old opted to have surgery on both wrists and one ankle and was not seen on the match court again in 2023. While strong opinions abound regarding Raducanu’s approach to her career, her talent is not in doubt and the biggest question mark remains whether her body can hold up to the rigours of professional tennis.

    Angelique Kerber

    Tennis fans could have been forgiven for thinking former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Kerber had retired. Instead, after being off the tour since Wimbledon 2022 and nearly a year after the birth of daughter Liana, the German is back. Kerber will turn 36 this month and her grand slam winning days are surely behind her but she joins a growing gang of mums on tour.

    Marin Cilic

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    Amanda Anisimova

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