MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� While is busy competing 鈥� and winning 鈥� at the , she needed to send someone to retrieve her 1 1/2-year-old daughter's birth certificate from their California home in case it got caught up in the .
After a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Caroline Garcia of France in the first round at Melbourne Park on Monday night, Osaka said during an on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena that she had learned that there was a fire burning three blocks from her house.
Osaka said she figured it would be a good idea to keep the birth certificate safe. Her daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023 and has traveled with Osaka on the tennis tour.
Osaka announced this month on social media that she and Shai's father, , had ended their relationship.
鈥淗onestly I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e been doing the greatest keeping focus, but obviously I won, so I think it鈥檚 an acceptable job,鈥� Osaka said about dividing her thoughts between Los Angeles and the tournament where she's competing. 鈥淚t is really difficult for me ... because I find now my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter. There鈥檚 so many things 鈥� keepsakes and stuff like that.鈥�
Osaka wore a black Dodgers hat with 鈥淟A鈥� and a red heart stitched on it, along with a purple Lakers jersey to her news conference.
鈥淚鈥檓 not there, so I don鈥檛 know how bad it is or how bad it鈥檚 going to get,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.鈥�
Osaka added that she doesn't think she will head to Los Angeles right after the Australian Open because, she said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like it鈥檚 safe enough to go back there. It鈥檚 kind of a little bit in a limbo 鈥� but also motivating me to hopefully stay here as long as I can.鈥�
She is a former No. 1-ranked tennis player who has won four Grand Slam titles 鈥� two at the Australian Open and two at the U.S. Open.
Osaka was born in Japan and her family moved to the United States when she was 3. She's been based in Los Angeles for several years.
鈥淪ending all my love to LA. We hear about fires, but I didn't know how devastating it could be,鈥� Osaka said on court. 鈥淚 hope everyone鈥檚 doing well.鈥�
She then wrote 鈥淟A鈥� and drew a heart in blue ink on the lens of a courtside TV camera. Other Australian Open athletes, including Coco Gauff and Donna Vekic, have done similar after their matches.
This was the second year in a row that Osaka and 2022 U.S. Open semifinalist Garcia have played each other in the first round at Melbourne Park. Last year, though, Osaka had only recently returned from maternity leave and she lost that match to Garcia.
鈥淚t's a really big coincidence,鈥� Osaka said. 鈥淚t felt a little familiar.鈥�
She got off to a good start this season by reaching the final of a hard-court tuneup tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, although she stopped playing after taking the opening set of that title match because of an injury.
Next at the Australian Open for Osaka will be a matchup against 20th-seeded , who was the runner-up at the 2023 French Open but later missed about 10 months of action because of wrist surgery. Muchova advanced by eliminating Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-1.
At last year's U.S. Open, in the second round.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP鈥檚 tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
