Naomi Osaka confirms baby’s gender during reveal party
Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka and boyfriend Cordae have held a gender reveal party ahead of the birth of their first child.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka announced in January that she would sit out the 2023 tennis campaign as she is pregnant and a couple of months later she admitted that she is keeping the gender of her unborn baby a secret to Cordae.
However, the cat is now out of the bag as the dad-to-be found out during the gender reveal party.
In an Instagram post the 25-year-old tennis player confirmed that she is expecting a girl as “A little princess is on the way”.
The gender reveal party was a pink and lavender-themed celebration and the post on social media was accompanied by several photos, including one of Cordae kissing the mother-to-be’s baby bump.
Naturally the WTA Tour community was quick to congratulate Osaka with the likes of Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff sending messages.
“It was hard to keep it a secret, but I also knew it would be much more fun to surprise him and everyone else during the party, so it was worth the wait,” Osaka told Today.com in an interview.
The Japanese star has made no secret of the fact that she plans to return to competitive tennis next year as she aims to back in action at the Australian Open in January and has also set her sights on the Paris Olympics.
READ MORE: Mom-to-be Naomi Osaka shuts down detractors – ‘Thanks for the concern, might wanna redirect it’
She will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Margaret Court who all made successful returns after giving birth.
“I’m most excited about being able to have a kid in the stands watching me play tennis, and them being able to say ‘Hey, that’s my mom on the court,'” Osaka told Today.
She added: “Tennis takes a lot of patience — whether that’s patience with the time it takes to develop a training routine and get in the best shape possible, or patience on the court when waiting for the perfect shot to close the point.
“I know parenthood will require a lot of patience in many other ways and I’m really just feeling optimistic and grateful for all that’s ahead.”
READ MORE: Who is Naomi Osaka’s boyfriend Cordae?
