久々復帰の大坂なおみ、今年の目標はテニスを「楽しむ」

【メルボルンＡＦＰ＝時事】４日の女子テニス、メルボルン・サマー・セット１で、涙の敗退を喫した昨年９月の全米オープン以来となる復帰を果たした大坂なおみが、今年の目標はコートでの時間を楽しむことだと話した。（写真は女子テニス、メルボルン・サマー・セット１、シングルス１回戦で、リターンを打つ大坂なおみ）
　２４歳の大坂は本調子には程遠かったが、６─４、３─６、６─３でアリーゼ・コルネ（フランス）を下し、復帰初戦を白星で飾った。試合後には、オーストラリアへ戻ってきて「新鮮な空気を吸った」ようだったと話した。
　大坂は、２０２１年は感情が「極端に高まり」、そのせいで悲しい思いもしたため、今年はそれを避けたいと心に決めている。
　昨年は精神面への悪影響を考慮し、一時取りやめていた記者会見を再び開いた大坂は、「自分にとって、今年の大きな目標は一つだけで、そしてそれは結果とはまったく関係ない」と話し、「個人的に、今年はコートへ出たら毎回楽しみ、仮に負けたとしても、できるだけ頑張ったと思いながらコートを去りたい」と続けた。
　「もう一つ、会見室での目標もあって、もう泣かないようにしたい。その方が自分にとってもいいと思う」
　「自分は結果や世界ランキングといった細かなことを少し気にしすぎるタイプだから、テニスをまた楽しむ方法を見つけたい。そもそも、そのためにテニスをやっていたのだから」
　昨年の大坂は、精神面の問題で全仏オープンテニスを途中棄権し、ウィンブルドン選手権は欠場。その際には試合後に会見をしなくてはならないことが問題を悪化させていると明かした。
　休養期間中には、ツアーの重圧から離れて普通の生活を送ることを心がけ、家族や友人と過ごし、今まで経験したことのなかった外泊も楽しんだという。
　「オフの間は友だちと出掛けたり、家族とたくさんしゃべったりして、自分で自分にかかっていたプレッシャーから解放されるのを感じた」
　「それから少しずつ、以前のようなテニスが大好きという気持ちを取り戻していった。その気持ちは完全になくなっていたわけじゃないけど、何年もひたすらプレーを続ける中でいろいろな感情が渦巻くようになって、テニスを好きな気持ちが薄れている感じがあった」
　「だから時には、自分がなぜテニスをやっているのかを思い出すのもいいことだと思う」 【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/01/05-10:36）

Naomi Osaka said Tuesday that she aims to enjoy herself on court this year as she won on her return to action following a tearful exit at the US Open in September.
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has fallen to 13 in the rankings, said after her third-round defeat at Flushing Meadows that she was dealing with some stuff and would take an indefinite break from tennis.
The former world number one from Japan had mostly laid low before flying into Melbourne last week to prepare for her Australian Open defence.
The 24-year-old was nowhere near her best but defeated France's 61st-ranked veteran Alize Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the Melbourne Summer Set tournament and said that being back in Australia was like a breath of fresh air.
Osaka is determined to avoid the extreme build-up of emotions last year that made her feel sad.
I feel like for me, I only really have one major goal this year, and it's completely unrelated to results, she said, holding a press conference again after her stance last year over the negative impact they had on her mental wellbeing.
For me, I just want to feel like every time I step on the court I'm having fun. I can walk off the court knowing that even if I lost, I tried as hard as I could.
Also I have a goal in the press room -- that I'm never going to cry again, so hopefully that works out in my favour, she added.
I'm the type of person that cared a little bit too much about the results and the ranking and stuff like that.
And I just need to find a way to enjoy the game again because that's the reason why I was playing in the first place.
Osaka last year withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon over mental health issues, saying her problems were exacerbated by speaking to the media after matches.
She said on Tuesday her feelings and emotions were like an extreme build-up and you just happened to see it all released last year.
During her self-enforced absence, Osaka tried to have a normal life away from the pressures of the tennis tour, spending time with family and friends and enjoying sleepovers, something she had never experienced before.
During the off-season I just hung out with my friends and talked to my family a lot, and I felt like that was a way of decompressing the pressure I had on myself, she said.
Then I just slowly started to regain the feeling of love that I had towards the game -- and it's not like it ever completely went away.
But I felt like it got overshadowed by a lot of emotions that I was feeling, just by constantly playing year after year... sometimes it's good to remember why you're playing.
Her win on Tuesday set up a last-16 clash with Belgium's Maryna Zanevska, who eased past Croatia's Petra Martic in straight sets.