Osaka Perplexed by Power Struggles After Cincinnati Setback 

Naomi Osaka of Japan serves during her match against Ashlyn Krueger of the United States (not pictured) during Day 2 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 12, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Naomi Osaka of Japan serves during her match against Ashlyn Krueger of the United States (not pictured) during Day 2 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 12, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Osaka Perplexed by Power Struggles After Cincinnati Setback 

Naomi Osaka of Japan serves during her match against Ashlyn Krueger of the United States (not pictured) during Day 2 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 12, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Naomi Osaka of Japan serves during her match against Ashlyn Krueger of the United States (not pictured) during Day 2 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 12, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)

Naomi Osaka said she still does not feel like herself on court eight months into her comeback season following a maternity break, with the four-times Grand Slam champion puzzled at her lack of power and accuracy.

The Japanese 26-year-old was beaten by Ashlyn Krueger in the second round of qualifying for the Cincinnati Open, the latest setback in a patchy run of form heading into the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open from Aug. 26-Sept. 8.

"My biggest issue currently isn't losses though, my biggest issue is that I don't feel like I'm in my body," Osaka wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

"It's a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn't miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try to tell myself, 'It's fine you're doing great. Just get through this one and keep pushing', mentally it's really draining through.

"Internally, I hear myself screaming, 'What the hell is happening?!?!'"

Osaka returned to action in January after a 15-month break during which she gave birth to her daughter. She is now ranked 90th in the world.

"I've played a handful of matches this year that I felt like I was myself and I know this moment is probably just a small phase from all the new transitions (clay, grass, clay, hard), however the only feeling I could liken how I feel right now to is being post-partum," Osaka said.

"That scares me because I've been playing tennis since I was three, the racket should feel like an extension of my hand."

Osaka's next event will be at Flushing Meadows, where she triumphed in 2018 and 2020, but she said she did not understand why everything about her game felt "almost brand new" again.

"This should be as simple as breathing to me, but it's not," she added.

"I genuinely did not give myself grace for that fact until just now."

Despite her struggles, Osaka said she loved putting in the work each day and "eventually having the opportunity to get to where you want to be".



Olympic Flag Arrival Kicks Off 2028 'Pressure' for LA

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newson, holding up flag, Team USA Olympians, LA28 organizing committee members and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), take a picture with the official Olympic flag at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newson, holding up flag, Team USA Olympians, LA28 organizing committee members and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), take a picture with the official Olympic flag at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Olympic Flag Arrival Kicks Off 2028 'Pressure' for LA

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newson, holding up flag, Team USA Olympians, LA28 organizing committee members and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), take a picture with the official Olympic flag at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newson, holding up flag, Team USA Olympians, LA28 organizing committee members and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), take a picture with the official Olympic flag at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The Olympic flag arrived under bright skies Monday in Los Angeles, where officials now have four short years to organize a Games capable of rivaling the widely praised Paris edition in a notoriously traffic-clogged metropolis.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass landed in a plane emblazoned with palm trees and the logo "LA 2028," and crossed the tarmac holding the five-ringed banner, accompanied by several US athletes.

"We feel the pressure to make sure that our city and our region is prepared and ready," she told reporters, according to Agence France Presse.

"We have the flag now. It's on us. We got a lot of work to do Los Angeles," Bass added.

A timely reminder of potential unique challenges came moments before her plane landed, as a 4.6-magnitude earthquake shook Los Angeles.

"Making sure that we are prepared for events like an earthquake" will be key to infrastructure plans, she said. "But also now we have climate events that we never thought about impacting our region, that we have to be prepared for as well."

Still, the biggest challenge will inevitably be transport.

In Paris for the closing ceremony last weekend, Bass outlined plans for Los Angeles to deliver a "no-car Games."

In a city addicted to private vehicles, where gigantic freeways criss-cross the urban sprawl and traffic jams are a daily inevitability, that pledge is ambitious.

"I'm skeptical we'll actually achieve that, but I know we're going to try," said James Moore, an industrial and systems engineering professor at University of Southern California.

- 'Out of town' -

Los Angeles does have a subway network, but at just five-and-a-half lines and relatively infrequent service, it is tiny for the region's 10 million residents.

Authorities plan to bring in 3,000 buses, borrowed from all over the country, and to create dedicated road lanes for them.

Public transport will receive priority over private cars, which will not be banned.

Not all Olympic sites are expected to have parking.

The last time Los Angeles hosted the Olympics, in 1984, many residents left the city, averting a traffic nightmare.

"If we see residents following the same strategy in 2028 and basically getting out of town for a few days, that may free up enough road space that we're able to move everybody with buses," said Moore.

The city's giant main airport, infamous for its accessibility issues, will -- at least -- finally be connected to the metro train network.

An automated shuttle, long in the works, is due to open by 2026, when Los Angeles will host the opening match of the soccer World Cup.

- Hollywood, homelessness -

Los Angeles is counting heavily on its reputation as the world's movies and entertainment capital.

In a "handover" segment of the Paris closing ceremony, Tom Cruise parachuted with the Olympic flag into Los Angeles near the famous Hollywood sign, which he then redecorated with the Olympic logo.

Los Angeles is also a US sporting powerhouse, with numerous major teams and state-of-the-art stadiums.

"What's not in our DNA? We're creative, we're storytellers. We've got sport, we've got diversity. It's LA," Reynold Hoover, CEO of the 2028 organizing committee, told AFP.

But beneath the Hollywood glitz, Los Angeles has an enormous homelessness crisis. Some 75,000 people lack housing, in a city where real estate is eye-wateringly expensive.

Since arriving at City Hall, Bass has made this long standing issue a priority. A vast shelter program has recently shown signs of progress.

The total number of homeless people fell slightly in 2024, for the first time in six years.