“It’ll make me cry”: Naomi Osaka reveals battle with postpartum depression after welcoming daughter Shai with ex Cordae

Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam tennis star, just told about her tough time after her daughter Shai was born in July 2023. In a new documentary called Naomi Osaka: The Second Set, which will premiere on Tubi on August 24, 2025, she talks about how she felt “like a shell” and how gray her world felt.

She is honest about having “extremely bad postpartum” and not knowing how to handle it. Osaka also says she almost stopped playing tennis but then found new strength through her baby, Shai.

Naomi Osaka opens up about ‘extremely bad’ postpartum depression

At a private screening in New York City on August 19, 2025, Osaka spoke to People about her feelings after Shai was born. She said, “Honestly, I also had extremely bad postpartum, and I didn’t know how to deal with it that well.” She shared a note she wrote: “I like to write things, but also I don’t like to say things out loud because I’m an emotional person and sometimes it’ll make me cry.”

She recalled thinking she knew enough about postpartum to avoid it, but she didn’t. “Prior to giving birth, a bunch of different people had told me about postpartum. But truthfully, I had thought that since I was so aware of it, I could somehow avoid the symptoms altogether.” She described feeling empty every moment, saying, “I felt like a shell of myself at all moments of the day … I no longer knew who I was anymore. It felt like everyone else had moved on and they were living in color.

Meanwhile, my world was stuck in gray.”

Naomi Osaka finds new purpose in being a mom and athlete

Even though she once thought becoming a parent meant stopping tennis, Osaka found surprising drive while pregnant. She told People, “I was one of those people that thought when I had a kid I would stop playing tennis.” Instead, she felt “very inspired” and wanted her daughter to see her play: “She definitely inspired me to continue.”Also Read: “It Is A Shortcut”: Serena Williams Opens Up On GLP 1 Weight Loss Journey And 31 Pound Drop Before US OpenAmazingly, just one week after she went into labor, she was training again, despite the criticism and pressure.

She said, “I really desperately wanted to play … that’s kind of my, I guess, stubbornness.” And, “I’ve been training since I was a really young kid, so it didn’t feel that extreme to me … it didn’t seem as wild as it does now.”She also talked about being apart from Shai while she traveled and trained, but said her support system, especially her mom, Tamaki Osaka, and other moms, helped carry her through. “Just seeing her makes my day brighter,” she said about her daughter. “She’s just such a positive influence in my life.”The film Naomi Osaka: The Second Set, directed by Kat Jayme and described as a “love letter” to moms, shows all this. It comes out on August 24, 2025, on Tubi.