Naomi Osaka reveals major battle with self doubts throughout childhood, adult life

Since publicly revealing her battle with anxiety and depression in 2021, the Japanese tennis star has become one of the biggest advocates for good mental health. And that includes often being very transparent about her feelings and state as that way she can show others that there no one should be afraid to open up.

In the latest edition of that, Osaka posted on Instagram excerpts from the book titled “Self Love.” There, the 27-year-old candidly confessed that she “never really liked myself” but at the same didn’t dislike herself. But she knew one thing as a kid – she wanted to be “someone else.”

“Growing up I never really liked myself. While that statement is bold I also wouldn’t say I disliked myself either. It was strange contradiction of thought, I was existing but I didn’t have a strong emotion or opinion tied to my being whether positive or negative. That being said, for some reason when I was young I knew that I potentially would’ve preferred to be someone else. Perhaps a pop star, or someone really famous and rich at the time,” the four-time Grand Slam champion wrote in the book.

Osaka makes a very wise statement about comparing yourself to someone else
Judging by the Japanese’s words, it is clear that one of the reasons why she felt about herself a certain way was because of looking at others and comparing herself to them.

When it comes to Osaka the tennis player, she doubted herself and often wondered if others were better. When it comes to her outside tennis, the former world No. 1 was insecure about her looks because some don’t consider athletes to be really attractive.

“Comparison is the thief of joy. When I was a teenager I used to compare myself to other people a lot. Whether it was from being a stereotypical teenage girl and thinking my body wasn’t conventionally attractive because I’m an athlete, (a trait that still wafts and lingers as a young woman), or comparing myself to other tennis players and thinking I’m behind. I was never happy when I thought about how I sized up next to others, eventually I began using my sport as a criteria to value my worth because I had no true basis anymore,” the Japanese wrote.