Osaka takes some positives from Dubai

Naomi Osaka will still have some positive memories from Dubai this year. She got to enjoy an epic adventure around the country's beautiful desert sand dunes.

The world No. 1 would fall to Kristina Mladenovic, 6-3, 6-3, in her first match, admitting that she has been struggling with the new pressures of being in the spotlight.

"I don't think I necessarily understand what position I'm in, in a way, because last year I wasn't even anywhere close to this ranking. People didn't pay attention to me," Osaka said. "That's something that I'm comfortable with. I don't really like attention. It's been a little tough."

The 21-year-old recently separated with her coach Sascha Bajin, and that became headline news in the tennis world.

"I'm pretty sure, like, you guys—no offense to you guys—but I'm pretty sure as time goes on you guys will stop talking about it," Osaka said. "See, it's a little bit hard because I feel like people are staring at me, and not like in a good way, so..."

"I'm sort of notoriously—I hope I said that right—tough on myself," Osaka said. "Before US Open, I lost those three matches in a row. I was just thinking, like, 'Wow, am I ever going to do anything in my life?' Even if something happens this year that is not necessarily good for me, I need to look at all the positive things that I've done."

While the spotlight has been heavily on her success the past 12 months, including winning Indian Wells, the US Open and the Australian Open, Osaka did endure some lows, too. As she pointed out, she lost three matches in a row going into her US Open victory.

At just 21, she's got a lot of experiences to endure, both good and bad, in the coming years and an opening-round Dubai loss will soon be forgotten.

Osaka next heads to Indian Wells where she'll be a defending champion for the first time.