Naomi Osaka posts emotional message as she confirms split from partner
Noami Osaka has taken to Instagram to confirm her relationship with the father of her daughter has come to an end.
The four-time Grand Slam champion first got together with rapper Cordae in 2019 and they welcomed their daughter, Shai, in July 2023.
Yet a few days before the first major tournament of 2025, Osaka announced that she is no longer with Cordae as she insisted their parting had been amicable.
“Hi everyone, just wanted to say that Cordae and I are no longer in a relationship,” she wrote.
“No bad blood at all, he’s a great person and an awesome dad. Honestly really glad our paths crossed because my daughter is my biggest blessing and I was able to grow a lot from our experiences together.”
The news came after the Japanese superstar had left fans wondering with cryptic notes about her personal life last week as she posted:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that what’s meant for me is meant for me and maybe certain situations occur to train my mind for what’s to come. That being said this is about to be a great year.”
Dating a tennis player is often a long-distance relationship, with Osaka’s return to the WTA Tour last year ensuring she spent long weeks away from Cordae and her young child.
She admitted that can be a challenge, but her passion to get more out of her sporting career was driving her on and she is relishing the chance to be a role model for mothers.
“While I was signing autographs a mom talked to me, and she said that she was having a tough time, and something that I said on court really helped her out,” Osaka said last August.
“For me, it’s definitely an honour. I don’t know, I still feel like I’m figuring myself out, so I’m always a little shocked when someone says that something that I’ve said or done has helped them out, but I really treasure that a lot.
“I think we’re all just trying to get through it, and we’re all just trying to find the best way that we know how and, yeah, it’s a really big honour for me.
“I feel like it’s a beautiful, magical thing that you’ve created a life inside of you, and you almost don’t even really get to treasure that moment.
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“I think for me, I don’t know, I feel like giving birth is, it’s normalized, and almost every, like, mom that I know has had a really difficult pregnancy and labour, so I wish that women could see how strong they are, but also not feel, like, too many expectations at the same time to, I guess, look a certain way or be a certain way.’
She also suggested that the arrival of her daughter inspired her to win more titles in her career as she added, “I do think after Shai was born, my mentality is that I’m a lot more hungry. I think winning three matches here is something that I’m extremely positive and happy about. I don’t take it for granted at all. I want to keep going,” she revealed.
“I don’t know. I just want to see how far I can go. I don’t know, I’m also really excited to see Shai, so it makes me happy every day to wake up. It’s like T minus nine days till I see her, so…
“I mean, I FaceTime her a lot. I get a lot of videos. She knows how to, like, kiss the phone. If I FaceTime her and I go (kissing sounds into the phone), then she’ll kiss the phone back. I don’t know, it’s really cute. I don’t feel like I’m missing too much ’cause I’m getting so many updates.”
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