LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 01: Naomi Osaka and YBN Cordae attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Washington Wizards at Staples Center on December 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka is a mother-to-be and expecting her first child in 2023. The four-time Grand Slam tennis champion announced she’s pregnant on Wednesday (Jan. 11) with a sonogram reveal photo and statement. Though Naomi, 25, didn’t name her boyfriend Cordae, 25, in the post, TMZ Sports confirmed they’re expecting the child together.
Naomi opened her statement by saying that she finds challenging times fun, including the last few “interesting” years. She spoke about her appreciation for tennis, which she stepped back from several times in 2021 for mental health reasons. Osaka plans to return to her sport at the Australian Open in 2024.
Her statement, published in English and Japanese, also reads:
“I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future. One thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, “that’s my mom,” haha. 2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024.”
Osaka dropped a major hint about motherhood while promoting her first book, The Way Champs Play, two months ago. Illustrated by Kamala Nair, the children’s book about kindness, teamwork, and having fun was released in early December.
“Reading my first book to my firstborn lol. So I just got a copy of my new book, and I can’t wait for you all to read it,” Osaka wrote on November 10.
Cordae has not reacted online to the pregnancy announcement. His last post on Instagram was made on Dec. 1.
Osaka and Cordae began dating in 2019. Though rumors swirled in April, Cordae didn’t confirm the news until July after he was spotted cheering Naomi on at the 2019 U.S. Open.
Speaking on Ebro In The Morning, Cordae revealed:
“We just kept [our relationship] hidden for a while, kept it quiet. I don’t really like to go public with my personal life, but if you just ask me [if we’re together], it’s be disrespectful to her if I said ‘nah’ at this point.”
Their first public date didn’t go down until December 2019, when the pair popped out to Crypto.com arena, formerly the Staples Center, to watch an L.A. Clippers game.
Still, the young couple has kept their romance out of the public eye–minus his support at tennis matches in 2020 and their couples’ GQ cover in 2021.
In the interview, Osaka revealed Cordae is “quite a romantic dude” while he explained their reason for being so private.
“We kind of move very reclusively. We don’t really post intimate moments because I feel as though they’re sacred,” Cordae said. “A relationship is really a sacred thing. Once you let outside influences get into it, it becomes less sacred.”
In 2021, the couple also popped out to the ESPYs Awards and the Met Gala together.
Cordae and Osaka kept things extra low-key in 2022. He currently has no photos of them together on his Insta-profile. Meanwhile, one of Naomi’s most recent posts of them together is from April 2022.
Congrats to Naomi and Cordae!
