*Post Partum Princess* - Naomi Osaka Thread

[workingclasscards]

Idk about you guys, but I think Naomi is going to come back after the child birth and win a couple more grand slams before its all said and done.
I don't see who else in the current field who can win who also has the same media prescience.
Coco Gauff is talented, but can't seem to make that jump and Serena's trainer said her reflexes are broken and need to be fixed.
Raducanu was really popular, has her own Topps set, won a grand slam, but she is overcoming injury.
Leyah Fernandez isn't ready yet, give her a few years to develop her game.

Also I think Naomi Osaka is a good buy because she is the most popular Gen-Z athlete. She is more well known than Doncic, Ohtani, Antetokounmpo, etc.
Naomi is one of those athletes that transcended her sport and became a true star after beating Serena in the finals.


Even if she doesn't do well after having the child, I still like her so I will continue to P/C her stuff from 2018 to 2021.

Tell me what you guys think...

[mindcycle]

I would say the drive will probably still remain so it's probably likely. What cards are you collecting? I won't claim to know much about tennis cards but would definitely be interested in seeing some cool ones of Naomi.

[workingclasscards]

The Naomi Osaka card timeline is pretty simple since she is ultra modern and Tennis doesn't have that many cards:
2018 - Sports Illustrated (some guy got a PSA 9 for less than $100, good buy at that price otherwise wouldn't bother)
2019 - Topps Int'l Hall of Fame, Box set that has her XRC, wouldn't spend much on this IMO
2020 - Topps Transcendent another box set, but this $30k/box and base cards were numbered to 50- The on card autos to /25 and /1 are nice buys IMO.
2021 - Goodwin champions- her true rookie set along with Coco Gauff, the UD Ultmiate Signatures to /199, Exquisite Rookie Auto /49, and Modern Exquisite RPA /99 are decent buys in this set, she also has a platinum portrait insert with the holes in it.
2021 - Levi's 501 set- random packs from Levis, there is a rare Jean RPA available, novel set but not my cup of tea.
2021 - Future Watch on card auto (Employee exclusive) are slowly coming down in price I may buy one in the future.
NAOMI IS NOT IN 2021 TOPPS CHROME TENNIS that released a couple months ago.

[workingclasscards]

I created a top 5 cards video for fun.
List is not accurate besides last 2 cards (I don't put 1/1s or SSPs in my lists).

[mindcycle]

I created a top 5 cards video for fun.
List is not accurate besides last 2 cards (I don't put 1/1s or SSPs in my lists).

Nice! Great list.

[workingclasscards]

https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/n ... o-tennis-/

Naomi Osaka, 25, has told her fans she is "excited" about her upcoming return to tennis and seeing them again. Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, recently welcomed her first child. In the upcoming period, Osaka plans to start working out again and hitting the practice court.

Earlier this year, Osaka said she will miss the entire 2023 season but plans to start her 2024 season in Australia. “I’m excited to have the opportunity [to play] again. I’ve been playing tennis since I was three, and I think it’s one of those things where I needed to take a step back to appreciate it more.

I also just really want to see fans again. During COVID, the distance hit me really hard," Osaka told Vogue.

Osaka wants to make great results again
When Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title at the 2021 Australian Open, she celebrated her 23rd birthday just a month earlier.


But shortly after winning her fourth Grand Slam title, Osaka opened up about her battle with depression and anxiety and she didn't really play much in the next year and a half. "I'm definitely going to perform well and be a better player than I have been last year.

For me, my results just made me want to try harder and be the best that I can be. I’ll be competing in Australia next year," Osaka said during an interview with a Japanese journalist earlier this year.In May, Osaka took to Twitter to send a message to those doubting her career post-pregnancy."Btw to the people that are suddenly concerned about my career.

There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead. Thanks for the concern, might wanna redirect it to someone that needs it though. Not trying to make this a male and female thing but let’s be fr," Osaka tweeted in May.

EDIT: Recent pickups... Naomi has a lot of retro Upper Deck designs that 90s BBall collectors would recognize (Skybox Rubies, Jambalaya, 2003 Ultimate Auto, Future Watch, Retro PMG Red /100, PMG Green /10, Platinum Metal Portraits, Exquisite Rookie Auto, Retro Exquisite RPA/25, etc. )

[workingclasscards]

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news ... ympic-gold

Naomi Osaka has said that she would like to win at least eight more Grand Slams as well as the Olympic gold medal after making a comeback post childbirth. Osaka is currently expecting her first child with plans to return early next year, preferably at the Australian Open.

Osaka announced that she was pregnant ahead of the start of the 2023 Australian Open in January. She last competed at the Japan Open in Tokyo back in September, withdrawing from her Round of 16 match due to an injury.

The Japanese tennis star struggled with form for over a year before going on maternity leave. However, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion has already set huge goals for herself upon comeback. When asked how many more Grand Slam titles she would like to win during a recent interview, Osaka was quick to say, "Eight."

She also expressed her desire to clinch the Olympic gold medal, ideally at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

"I want to try to win the Olympics next year," Osaka said.
The 25-year-old feels that playing tennis at the highest level again will bring her great happiness and is excited to make a comeback.

[/b]"It makes me very excited to return to the sport....It's something that's going to make me very happy," she added.[/b]

Platinum Metal Portraits & Jambalaya SPs

[workingclasscards]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tenni ... -Slam.html

Naomi Osaka hit the comeback trail this week as she plots a return to the court a month after the birth of her baby girl.

Two-time US Open champion Osaka skipped an appearance at Flushing Meadows this year after welcoming her daughter Shai with her rapper boyfriend Cordae in July.

However, the 25-year-old is already back in training mode as she shared a series of photos and videos of her working out to her 2.7 million Instagram followers Monday - the first day of the Grand Slam.

The new mom posted a photo of herself standing on an athletics track beaming from ear to ear as she held a peace sign up to the camera.

Next, she got down to business in a video showing her pulling a fitness sled with her trainer on top, who asked her, 'Why are you going so slow?'

........

These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I've dedicated my life to. I realise that life is so short and I don't take any moment for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure.

'I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, 'that's my mom,'.

[workingclasscards]

Naomi Osaka reunites with performance coach Zitzelsberger
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/3761598/ ... zelsberger
Naomi Osaka Toray 2022
As Naomi Osaka plots her 2024 comeback to the Hologic WTA Tour, the former No.1 has reunited the team at the helm when she stepped away two years ago. In addition to rehiring coach Wim Fissette, Osaka also brought back performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger, who oversees all aspects of her health and fitness.

It's a challenge that the experienced German is happy to take on.

"It's an interesting journey for me because the work we started was not quite finished“, Zitzelsberger told WTA Insider. "Now we have the chance.“

"Naomi is a pure talent, quite unbelievable. But still, I see a lot of athletic potential that we can work on. First and foremost, she has to stay healthy, but on the other side, there is so much potential to nurture, strengthen and conquer."

Zitzelsberger has spent the past eight years treating and managing bodies on the ATP and WTA Tours. After finishing his studies in 2014, he began his career working with Chanelle Scheepers before she passed his number to fellow South African Kevin Anderson. From there, things quickly escalated.

"Two days later, I was sitting at the Queen's final, where Kevin was playing against Andy Murray," Zitzelsberger said. "I wanted to focus on performance coaching because I like to help people, to make athletes and human beings reach their greatest potential. I want to help them achieve overall health and to show them how to live a healthy life and get more athletic, day to day."

With his experience working on the WTA Tour with Julia Goerges, Petra Kvitova, Petra Martic and a host of athletes across sports at the Integralis clinic he co-founded with Daniel Pohl, Zitzelsberger is now super motivated to help Osaka reach her goals.

"With Naomi, I am the head of health and performance," Zitzelsberger said. "I'm a strength and conditioning coach, athletic coach, a physiotherapist and an osteopath. I analyze the biomechanics and work to improve the tennis-specific biomechanics.

"From there, I also cover nutrition, which is fundamental for building and maintaining a strong, athletic body. And being an osteopath, I always try to balance out the whole body and being through my treatments. When I'm treating as an osteopath, I'm not treating myofascial muscles or joints. I'm one layer deeper. I'm treating organs, nerves and arteries."

one step at a time pic.twitter.com/LJOgG4RMSJ

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) October 25, 2023
The most immediate challenge for Zitzelsberger is building up Osaka's physicality to lay a stable foundation for her targeted return to competition in January.

"The combination of the pelvis and the trunk together is the power center of the whole athlete," Zitzelsberger said. "[During pregnancy], this power center is not meant to create power but rather preparing a home for a healthy baby. The abdominal wall has to be lengthened and stretched in order for the babys proper development.

"You lose a lot of core strength. By losing the core strength, a lot of the movement chains are getting a little bit irritated. This is the biggest challenge is getting this back: getting powerful hips and getting better stabilization again."

2019 Beijing highlights: Osaka overcomes Barty to win second straight title
While the challenge is apparent, Zitzelsberger and Fissette are revealing in the opportunity as well. Players rarely have extended blocks of time out of competition to work on physical or technical fundamentals. But Team Osaka will have had a four-month pre-season before boarding the plane to Australia.

"Knowing her, she just wants to go back on court and play a lot of tennis," Zitzelsberger said. "But we have a long-term plan. The most important thing is maintaining her health.

"I really credit Wim, because some coaches would just push every day to play on the court, to have a lot of tennis time. But he wants maximum quality in the strokes on the court, and then we go to the gym and do the work to get her healthy, to have her in a stable position. We know exactly where we want to be in one month, in two months and further into the future.“

The key to putting Osaka back on a successful track is tamping down any sense of urgency. When she returns in January, she will be one of the growing number of mothers on tour, joining the likes of former No.1s Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka, and Wimbledon semifinalists Elina Svitolina and Tatjana Maria. The last player to win a major or become No.1 as a mom was Kim Clijsters.

In recent years, the most successful moms on the Grand Slam stage have been Azarenka, who Osaka beat in the 2020 US Open final, and Osaka's idol Serena Williams, who made four major finals in her comeback.

"At the moment, the biggest focus is not tennis," Zitzelsberger said. "The biggest focus is just bringing her back to a really athletic and healthy state, while we can now work on court. From the tennis side, Wim now has the chance to work on things that we always wanted to work on but didn't get the time before."