Jay Shetty PodcastNAOMI OSAKA REVEALS the Message Serena Williams Sent Her After their US Open Final Match!
Jay Shetty and Naomi Osaka on naomi Osaka on identity, motherhood, mental health, and resilience lessons.
In this episode of Jay Shetty Podcast, featuring Naomi Osaka and Jay Shetty, NAOMI OSAKA REVEALS the Message Serena Williams Sent Her After their US Open Final Match! explores naomi Osaka on identity, motherhood, mental health, and resilience lessons Osaka describes feeling shame, isolation, and overwhelm around her French Open withdrawal, including avoiding the outside world and struggling with the media spotlight.
At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Naomi Osaka on identity, motherhood, mental health, and resilience lessons
- Osaka describes feeling shame, isolation, and overwhelm around her French Open withdrawal, including avoiding the outside world and struggling with the media spotlight.
- She explains how early, intense training and a “blueprint” upbringing created a deep tennis-first identity that later made wins/losses feel like measures of personal worth.
- Osaka revisits the complex emotions of winning her first Grand Slam against Serena Williams—dream-fulfilled yet clouded by controversy, hate comments, and doubts about “deserving” the win.
- Motherhood shifts her internal landscape toward patience and perspective, reducing the emotional devastation of losses while introducing new motivations and boundaries.
- She outlines practical coping tools—journaling, meditation with rain/ocean sounds, selective detachment from opinions, and leaning on trusted relationships—to manage comparison, anxiety, and self-criticism.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasMental health disclosures can be messy and still meaningful.
Osaka feels embarrassed about how she communicated her struggles, yet believes speaking up opened pathways for wider athlete mental-health conversations and humanized athletes.
Over-identifying with performance makes setbacks feel existential.
She describes valuing herself as a person based on wins and losses, and later learning—through life events and supportive people—that tennis is not her entire self-worth.
Public narratives can contaminate even “dream” achievements.
Winning her first Slam against Serena was a childhood dream, but controversy and online hate led to intense emotional conflict and delayed processing of the moment.
Boundaries aren’t anti-media; they’re pro-human.
Osaka explains that as fame grew, press questions felt engineered for headlines rather than understanding, contributing to fear, withdrawal, and the decision to step back.
Comparison may never disappear, but its power can shrink.
She accepts competitive “sizing up” thoughts can arise, and the work becomes responding differently—watching the “wonder” spiral and not letting it dictate choices.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesMy whole identity as I knew it was being a tennis player, so I would, I guess, value my, my life or what my value was as a person on whether I won or lost.
— Naomi Osaka
I was just reading comments of people saying that I didn't deserve to win or, like, I didn't win fairly. And I don't know, it just, it just really sucked.
— Naomi Osaka
No one can ever predict someone else's path. I just realize, like, some people will understand that, and some people won't, and it's not my job to convince, um, people of that.
— Naomi Osaka
I don't ever claim to know answers, but I think when I was at really low moments of my life, I always felt like I was alone. Um, so I would say you're never alone.
— Naomi Osaka
You have to be the lion, and the flies around your eyes are people's opinions, and you just have to focus and keep your eyes straight.
— Naomi Osaka
QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE
5 questionsWhat exactly did Serena Williams’ message say after the US Open final, and how did it change your emotions that night?
Osaka describes feeling shame, isolation, and overwhelm around her French Open withdrawal, including avoiding the outside world and struggling with the media spotlight.
When you say you were “ashamed” after the French Open decision, what were the specific beliefs about what an athlete “should” be that you felt you violated?
She explains how early, intense training and a “blueprint” upbringing created a deep tennis-first identity that later made wins/losses feel like measures of personal worth.
Looking back, what would you change about how you communicated your no-press decision—wording, timing, or who you spoke to first?
Osaka revisits the complex emotions of winning her first Grand Slam against Serena Williams—dream-fulfilled yet clouded by controversy, hate comments, and doubts about “deserving” the win.
How do you distinguish between healthy competitiveness that fuels performance and unhealthy comparison that erodes self-worth—what are your warning signs?
Motherhood shifts her internal landscape toward patience and perspective, reducing the emotional devastation of losses while introducing new motivations and boundaries.
You returned to training 7–10 days postpartum; what did that first week of training actually include, and what safeguards did you have in place?
She outlines practical coping tools—journaling, meditation with rain/ocean sounds, selective detachment from opinions, and leaning on trusted relationships—to manage comparison, anxiety, and self-criticism.
Chapter Breakdown
Naomi’s mental health disclosure: pride, embarrassment, and what it changed
Naomi reflects on sharing her mental health struggles publicly, admitting she feels some embarrassment about her wording and timing, but also pride that it opened doors for broader conversations. Jay frames her vulnerability as a moment that humanized athletes and gave others permission to speak up.
Impulsiveness vs. strategy: how her personality shows up on-court and off
Naomi describes herself as highly impulsive—quick to act and drawn to spontaneity—while also operating in a sport that demands planning and precision. She explains how she balances creativity (flashy, entertaining shots) with disciplined patterns learned through years of play.
Moving from Japan to the U.S.: language loss, identity, and cultural intimacy
Naomi recalls moving from Japan to America as a toddler and the cultural adjustments that followed—especially a teacher urging her mother to stop speaking Japanese at home. She shares how language preserves closeness and meaning, and why losing fluency still frustrates her.
Her father’s “blueprint” and the family’s all-in training life
Naomi details the intense family commitment that shaped her career: eight-hour training days with her sister and dad, creating a sense that success was almost inevitable. She describes her father as stoic, the family dream as shared, and “King Richard” as strangely familiar.
Living two cultures: Haitian generosity and Japanese promptness
Naomi explains how Haitian and Japanese cultural values show up in her mindset and habits. She highlights Haitian hospitality—giving even with little—and Japanese punctuality and structure as a grounding counterbalance to her impulsive side.
Discipline, diet, and guilty pleasures: rice, racing, and growing safer with motherhood
Naomi shares what discipline looks like right now—cutting out rice despite it being central to her cultures—then contrasts it with her impulsive nighttime drives and occasional street races. She notes how becoming a mother shifted her risk tolerance and safety mindset.
Filling time when life is hyper-structured: gaming, manga, and ‘fake shopping’ carts
Reflecting on earlier career phases, Naomi describes a life so repetitive she could predict it by the minute. Her impulses found outlets online—video games, manga, and filling shopping carts without buying—mirroring window shopping and the comfort of ‘options.’
Winning her first Grand Slam vs. public backlash: the emotional whiplash of the US Open final
Naomi recounts the surreal mix of achieving a childhood dream—playing Serena in a Slam final—while facing controversy and claims she didn’t deserve the win. She remembers reading hateful comments alone after the match, and how it took years to begin processing it.
Serena Williams as hero and peer: the message, the awe, and the full-circle moment
Naomi shares that Serena sent her a kind message after the final, which left her starstruck—so much so she muted the conversation after replying. She recalls writing a childhood report about Serena, and later being asked by Serena to take a photo with Serena’s daughter.
Motherhood and identity: separating self-worth from wins and losses
Naomi explains how becoming a mother reshaped her inner world: more patience, more perspective, and less attachment to match outcomes as a measure of her value. She describes gradually ‘clicking’ into a broader identity through lived experiences and supportive relationships.
Journaling, writing, and learning to love her life as it is
Naomi describes journaling as a daily tool that helped her express thoughts more clearly than speaking, despite early struggles with grammar and writing in school. She shares she’s working on a book-like project and chooses to post snippets when she feels they may help others.
Comparison, competitiveness, and ‘stop chasing your old self’
Naomi unpacks how performance culture fuels constant comparison—titles, wins, rankings—and how that mindset spilled into her personal self-evaluation. She shares a key insight from returning post-motherhood: chasing her former version was limiting, and excitement now comes from growth and learning.
Returning after giving birth: training fast, internet opinions, and setting boundaries with media
Naomi details her pregnancy experience, weight gain from sickness, training nearly up to birth, and resuming training within 7–10 days postpartum—sparking online criticism. She also explains why press conferences became harder as fame grew and questions felt less human and more extractive.
Meditation and calm: rain sounds, ocean noise, and welcoming thoughts
Naomi shares that meditation began before her first US Open win, rooted in noticing how rainy days brought peace. She uses water sounds and brainwave audio nightly, focusing not on forcing thoughts away but understanding why they’re arriving in volume.
Breaks, shame, and support: French Open withdrawal, Olympics validation, and not feeling alone
Naomi explains the French Open period as driven by shame, isolation, and feeling she’d violated the ‘athlete’ code of hiding cracks. After retreating at home, the Olympics became a turning point when fellow athletes—especially women—thanked her, replacing loneliness with solidarity.
Mentors, friendships, and legacy: Kobe’s advice, giving forward, and ‘you’re never alone’
Naomi discusses how she maintains connection through her traveling team and close family ties, while also valuing mentorship—especially Kobe Bryant, who taught her to treat opinions like flies and stay focused like a lion. She emphasizes generosity, helping the next generation, and offers a message to listeners struggling with mental health: ask for help; you’re not alone.
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