Naomi Osaka to draw inspiration from Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz ahead of clay-court return

WATCH: Osaka enjoyed an impressive return to form in Miami, reaching her first final in over a year.

Having found her form on hard courts, Naomi Osaka is setting her sights on clay again.

The former No. 1, now ranked No. 35, reached her first final at the Miami Open and her first final in more than a year, falling in straight sets to Iga Swiatek.

The 24-year-old has won four Grand Slams on hard courts, twice at the Australian Open and twice at the US Open, but has yet to get beyond the third round at Roland Garros or Wimbledon. Her other WTA titles have all been on hard-court surfaces.

She's looking to change that, starting with this upcoming clay season.

"I'm gonna try to take this clay-court season really seriously, so I'm actually going to go to Europe a week before to train on the red clay," said Osaka, speaking to press at Miami.

Though she acknowledges she's ''not a clay expert," Osaka says she's had experience on the surface growing up in Florida and just needs to improve her movement and mentality.

"I feel like if I get my movement together, I should be pretty good," she said, noting that the 2021 clay-court Mutua Madrid Open was won by a similarly big-hitting player, Aryna Sabalenka.

"I grew up on green clay, being from here, so it shouldn't be that foreign to me. I think I just have to get my mentality together to know that every match would be a fight."

I'm going to watch a lot of Nadal videos [and] shout out, Alcaraz, because he’s killing it. Naomi Osaka on her clay-court preparation

Bear in mind: Osaka did make similar comments in 2021 and did not go deep in any of her clay events. But going into this season, she'll look for some footwork tips from King of Clay Rafael Nadal and Miami Open champ Carlos Alcaraz.

"I'm going to watch a lot of Nadal videos," she said, adding “[and] shout out, Alcaraz, because he’s killing it.”

She's also adding some more grass events to her schedule to get more experience on her toughest surface. But her biggest goal is to keep using the same approach as Miami.

"I just think that knowing I'm still a student and I have to keep learning," Osaka said. "Clay and grass is something I really want to tackle this year.

"I think I have a possibility of doing better on clay than on grass, just because I'm more comfortable with sliding there. I feel like for me it's more of a comfort level. I haven't played that many matches on grass, so just knowing that and giving myself the opportunity to like sign up for more grass tournaments and stuff like that. "

Osaka is scheduled to start her clay-court campaign in Madrid.