Naomi Osaka says she is satisfied with how she’s playing right now, despite failing to string a run of wins together in the build-up to this year’s US Open.

The Japanese star took an extended period away from the game this year to focus on her mental health and has seemingly struggled for consistency since returning at the Olympics. Osaka lost in the third round at Tokyo 2020 and fell at the same stage in the Western and Southern Open.

Yet, speaking in her first Grand Slam press conference since the Australian Open, the 23-year-old stressed she feels good about her game right now.

“I know I haven’t played that many matches, but actually I feel pretty good about how I’m playing.”

The four-time major champion has a great record at the US Open and was brought up in Queens, near Flushing Meadows.

As she seeks her fifth Grand Slam victory, and a third in four years in New York, Osaka said it “feels really nice” to be back.

“I think the biggest memory that comes back to me is being a little kid, running around the entire site.

“I don’t know if that may be the reason why I play so well here, but there’s definitely a lot of nostalgia.”

While she feels confident defending her US Open title, Osaka did admit she has regrets over some of the decisions she made at Roland Garros earlier this year.

The world number three revealed at the time she was suffering from depression and refused to take part in media conferences during the tournament.

After her opening match, she was fined $15,000 (£10,750) for failing to speak to the press, with Grand Slam organisers threatening to expel her from the competition should she continue to avoid them.

Osaka subsequently withdrew from the competition, citing anxiety as the reason, and failing to outline when she planned to return.

Now, the former world number one has conceded she made mistakes in the way she approached things at the time.

“I feel there’s a lot of things that I did wrong in that moment. But I’m also the type of person that’s very in the moment… Of course, I don’t feel the same situation will happen again.

“Whatever I feel, I’ll say or do it. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. I would say maybe think it through a bit more, in the way that I didn’t know how big of a deal it would become.”

Osaka faces Czech player Marie Bouzková in the first round of this year’s tournament tomorrow. The game is expected to be played in the Arthur Ashe stadium with a packed crowd, who will no doubt be cheering for the Japanese star.