Naomi Osaka said she still does not feel like herself eight months into her comeback season following her latest defeat at the Cincinnati Open.
Osaka was beaten in three sets by Ashlyn Krueger in the second round of qualifying for the event ahead of the final grand slam of the year at the US Open.
The former world number one also lost in her first match of the Paris Olympics to Angelique Kerber and was beaten in the last 32 of the Canadian Open last week.
Osaka was left puzzled by her lack of accuracy and power in her most recent loss, explaining her current form is having an affect on her mentally.
"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.
The Japanese is now ranked 90th in the WTA rankings, with her best finishes coming in Doha and 's-Hertogenbosch where she reached the quarter-finals in both.
"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, a stadium where she triumphed in 2018 and 2020, but added she did not understand why everything about her game felt 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."
Alcaraz grinds through to help Spain to Davis Cup win
Carlos Alcaraz got a stroke of luck as he helped Spain make a winning start to the Davis Cup Finals group-stage campaign against Czechia as Tomas Machac retired through injury.
The French Open and Wimbledon champion dropped the first set 6-7 (3-7), but rallied to finish the second 6-1, forcing a decider after getting two vital breaks.
However, Machac pulled up in the opening game of the third set with cramp and was unable to carry on after one hour and 41 minutes on the court.
It followed Roberto Bautista's flying start in their opening singles match in Group B as he cruised past Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-1) 6-4, with the Czech making 27 unforced errors as he failed to find an edge.
In the doubles, Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then had to dig deep, coming from behind to beat Adam Pavlasek and Jakub Mensik in three sets to give Spain a 3-0 victory and take them top of the group.
Meanwhile, Great Britain also made a bright start to their campaign in Group D, despite US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper sitting out.
Dan Evans got them started in Manchester with a hard-earned 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over Eero Vasa of Finland, converting both of his break points in the second set.
Billy Harris followed that up with an impressive tournament debut, looking unflappable as he earned the hosts an unattainable lead with his 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Otto Virtanen.
Finland got themselves on the board in the doubles though, with Evans and Neal Skupski unable to get the better of Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen ensuring it was only a 2-1 loss.
Elsewhere, the United States joined Germany at the top of Group C with their 3-0 win over Chile and Italy's Matteo Arnaldi held off a spirited Thiago Monteiro to put them in control against Brazil in Group A after Matteo Berrettini's earlier victory.
Auger Aliassime and Shapovalov help Canada to Davis Cup victory
Felix Auger Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov helped Canada make a winning start to their Davis Cup Finals group-stage campaign, overcoming Argentina in Manchester.
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Shapovalov got Canada off to a flier in the opening singles match of the Group D encounter, beating Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes.
Cerundolo committed 51 unforced errors in a disjointed display, giving up back-to-back breaks early in the second set as the match slipped away from him after a competitive opener.
Not to be outdone, Auger Aliassime followed up Shapovalov's victory by beating Sebastian Baez 6-3 6-3, keeping his opponent under fierce pressure throughout and converting seven of the 12 break points he forced.
Doubles specialists Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni then beat Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil in three sets, but that was not enough to deny Canada victory.
Great Britain and Finland are the other two teams in Group D, with Jack Draper leading the hosts' bid to reach the knockout stages in Malaga later this year.
Murray embracing new found freedom after tennis retirement
Andy Murray expected to miss playing tennis after putting his racket down for the final time last month but said retirement has been "the complete opposite" to what he anticipated.
Murray, who won three grand slam titles across a glittering 19-year career, saw his time on the court come to an end at Roland-Garros in the Paris Olympics.
The 37-year-old competed alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition to eventual bronze medallists Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Murray withdrew from Wimbledon ahead of the Games after picking up a back injury against Jordan Thompson at the Queen's Club Championship, the latest of many injury setbacks towards the latter stages of his career.
"Since I've stopped, I feel really free and have got lots of time to do whatever it is I want," Murray told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I can dedicate time to my children and have free time to play golf or go to the gym on my own terms.
"It is really nice and I didn't expect that. I was expecting to find retirement hard and be missing tennis a lot and wanting to get back on the tennis court on tour.
"So far it has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking."
The 37-year-old won his first grand slam in 2012 at the US Open before ending Britain's 77-year wait for a men's Wimbledon champion in 2013, winning it again in 2016.
During his career, Murray played 1,001 singles matches in his career, earning his landmark victory against Alexei Popyrin in three sets at Queen's.
After his injury in W14, the Scot vowed that the 2024 Olympic Games would be where his career ended, a competition he won two gold medals in 2012 and 2016.
While there was no perfect ending in the French capital, Murray revealed he was now spending some quality time with his family.
"The thing that I always found difficult in recent years was that there was always a guilt associated with what I was doing," Murray said.
"If I was going away for a trip of like three to four weeks I would feel guilty leaving my children at home or being away from my wife for a long time with them, so missing the kids I found hard.
"But if I was at home with the kids then I was running around and spending a lot of my time on my feet after training.
"I was then thinking 'is this going to affect my training or performance the next day, should I have my feet up?' I found that stuff difficult over the last few years."
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