Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is sharing the highs and lows of motherhood and how parenting with her rapper boyfriend, Cordae has been.
The 26 year old and Cordae welcomed their first child together, a healthy baby girl named Shai, 5 months ago and according to new mom Naomi it has been a breeze even though labour pains felt like, "the worst pain of my life," according to Osaka.
Naaomi praised the "Gifted" crooner, whom she has been dating since 2019 for being an easy going guy highlighting they work because they've mastered the art of communicating.
"We built a really good foundation. I don't know if it's because he's just an easy going guy, but I think we just respect each other's opinions. And if we disagree on something, we talk it out," Osaka who has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles told InStyle during an interview they had with her.
She went on to add that at the end of the day they always "win" because they choose what is best for 5 month old Shai, whom they've done an incredible job of keeping away from social media and hawk eyed paparazzi.
"At the end of the day, we both want what's best for Shai. I want her to stand up for what she believes in.
I think that there's a lot of power in someone's voice. Judging from how much [Shai] likes to do her little talking, I guess she's also going to be a vocal kid," the Japanese professional tennis player said.
Osaka also got candid about her pregnancy journey and opened up revealing that it was not the easiest and a lot of things had her on nerves, super anxious.
"I don't think people know how hard pregnancy is; no one really talks about it as much. Going into it, you kind of think: "Oh, it's this beautiful journey." But it's kind of rough," Naomi opined.
During her term, Naomi tested positive for a bacterial infection Group B streptococcus, which affects millions of expecting mothers every year.
The infection can lead to sepsis, meningitis, or stillbirth for babies and it made Osaka very anxious.
"I was kind of starting to freak out a little bit,. There were so many things I wasn't aware of," the 26 year old told InStyle.
Finishing up she highlighted that she was looking forward to making her daughter proud of her and was eager for Shai to grow up and experience her mom at the height of her career.
"I do want to be a good role model for Shai, and I want her to see that this was an important chapter in my life," Naomi said.
Osaka went back to back training in October (barely 4 months after she'd given birth) and is looking forward to the next Wimbledon and French Open.
She is set to come back at the 2024 Brisbane International, and will also compete at the Australian Open after that, a tournament that she managed to win two times in her career.
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