success myth – Naomi Osaka discusses the success “myth” she once believed, and why setting boundaries—and respecting fatigue—helps protect her mental health.

Naomi Osaka has built much of her reputation on tennis excellence, but in a new candid push, she is turning the spotlight to a different kind of winning: learning when to say no.

The four-time Grand Slam champion. who is now an ambassador for Olly’s Mental Health Awareness Month campaign. said she used to believe success meant accepting everything that came with it.. Over time. she has come to see that approach as unsustainable. describing how setting boundaries has helped her achieve what she has.

In a personal essay for Fortune, Osaka wrote that she once equated success with always saying yes. Her current perspective, she said, is grounded in a simple shift: she has been able to reach her goals by holding firm boundaries rather than constantly accommodating expectations.

One pivotal moment in that evolution came with her decision to withdraw from the French Open in 2021. which Osaka said helped her recognize that she does not always have to follow what other people expect from her.. For her. the choice was not merely about schedules or training; it was about protecting her mental well-being at a time when the pressure around participation was intense.

Osaka has previously spoken publicly about the emotional cost of scrutiny after her French Open withdrawal.. After facing backlash. she wrote a piece for Time addressing the pressures she experienced as the press and tournament environment pushed her to disclose details from her personal medical history.

In that Time essay. she argued that in many other workplaces. taking a personal day would likely be treated with basic understanding—while employees generally would not be compelled to reveal highly personal symptoms to their employer.. She also pointed to the absence of comparable privacy protections in her situation. highlighting how professional sports can operate differently from ordinary employment.

Since welcoming her daughter in 2023, Osaka said building boundaries has become easier in some ways, while also taking on greater responsibility. She explained that motherhood adds a new layer: it isn’t only her own well-being that requires protection, but also her daughter’s.

She also challenged the cultural expectation that women should aspire to “doing it all.” In her view. glorifying that ideal overlooks the cost of trying to be everything for everyone.. Rather than treating refusal as failure. she said it can be kinder to say no—because it helps prevent the loss of one’s own self in the process.

Long before her later reflections on boundaries, Osaka described how early success changed the emotional stakes of competition.. In 2019. after winning the Australian Open at age 21. she told Fast Company that the consequences of a loss began to feel larger. becoming news widely.. She said this shift made her pay more attention to defeats, and that the losses felt harder to shake.

As she described it, the pressure was not only external.. Osaka said she sometimes felt depressed during practices and that expectations were weighing on her in a way she had not previously experienced.. She also said that in those moments she tends to shut down. and that it becomes harder to keep the enjoyment that initially drew her to the sport.

Since then, Osaka said she has learned to listen more closely to both her mind and body. In her Fortune essay, she explained that she does not push herself into extremes when she senses overload or deeper fatigue.

As she put it, she believes there is a difference between a “good kind of tired” and a fatigue that signals something is off. When she recognizes that deeper fatigue, she said she doesn’t push through it anymore—she respects what her body is communicating.

Naomi Osaka mental health boundaries tennis pressure French Open withdrawal women and success athlete wellness