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Former world number one Naomi Osaka says she has gone through “more downs than ups” this year.<\/span><\/p>\n The 24-year-old from Japan has not won a title since last year’s Australian Open and has been defeated in the first round of her past three tournaments.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A four-time Grand Slam winner, she has dropped to 48th in the rankings going into this week’s Pan Pacific Open.<\/span><\/p>\n “This year has not been the best year for me but I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Osaka said.<\/span><\/p>\n “Life is ups and downs, and this year was more down than up, but overall I’m pretty happy with where I am now.”<\/span><\/p>\n Osaka is defending her title at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, an event which returns after a three-year absence following the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n In May 2021, <\/span>Osaka pulled out of the French Open<\/span><\/a> after revealing she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018, and in September of that year she announced she would <\/span>take a break from the sport.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Having <\/span>withdrawn from Wimbledon<\/span><\/a> with an Achilles injury and losing in the first round of the French and US Opens, the third round of the Australian Open was the furthest point Osaka reached in a Grand Slam this year.<\/span><\/p>\n She said the fall from the top of tennis was difficult to deal with initially.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was kind of hard at first, just because I feel like I should be somewhere where I’m obviously currently not,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n “I think for me it’s more about being at peace with myself. I know that I’m here for a reason.”<\/span><\/p>\n Osaka, who claimed her first Grand Slam title at the <\/span>US Open in 2018<\/span><\/a> by beating Serena Williams, said she was “over trying to fill people’s shoes”.<\/span><\/p>\n “I don’t think you can ever do that because everyone is unique, and we’re all forging our own paths and we’re all on our own journeys,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n