Naomi Osaka: Lack of travel in COVID pandemic taught me stillness

Naomi Osaka

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has revealed that COVID-19 pandemic has taught her the beauty of stillness. In her column for The Wall Street Journal, Osaka wrote: "This year brought so many changes in the world and in so many people's lives. As someone who has spent most of my adult life on the road traveling, the pandemic taught me the beauty of stillness."

Osaka said she became more aware about issues affecting the world without travelling. "The inability to travel grounded me not only physically, but also in my character. For the first time I was able to read and watch the news more often and more in depth and to understand the issues affecting the world. As a tennis player, I haven't always been able to do that. It's ironic that, without travel, I became more globally aware."

Osaka felt the pandemic helped her reassess her priorities in life. "It [pandemic] helped me to learn that my own happiness has much more to do with success off the court than on it. For me, the pandemic has allowed me to reset and reassess my priorities and evaluate everything," she remarked.