Naomi Osaka admits she struggled with the weight of expectations after becoming world No. 1.
Japan's Osaka, who won the US Open and Australian Open and became world No. 1 earlier this year, was knocked off the top spot by Australia's Ash Barty this week and said she was much happier being the hunter and not the hunted.
"Mentally it was way more stress and pressure than I could have imagined," said Osaka, who is the No. 2 seed behind Barty for Wimbledon.
"I don't think there was anything that could have prepared me for that, especially since I'm kind of an overthinker."
The 21-year-old Osaka won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open last September, beating Serena Williams in a contentious final, holding her nerve under the most intense pressure imaginable.
And she followed up by winning the Australian Open for back-to-back slams, only to lose her way in the following months, losing in the third round at the French Open, while Barty went on to pick up her first Grand Slam title.
"I think it's better for me now to be, I was going to say lower-ranked -- isn't that crazy -- to be No. 2 here because the only upside is if you win the tournament, you're automatically No. 1. That, for sure, is a really big goal of mine. I don't have to think about defending the ranking or anything."
Osaka plays Yulia Putintseva of Russia in the first round on Monday and said she was looking forward to concentrating just on doing her job instead of looking over her shoulder.
"In Australia I felt like normal," she said. "I felt like how I am now. In the French, I wasn't even talking to you guys that much. I know you missed me.
"In Australia, of course, I wanted to win really bad. I didn't know that I would win. It was only in the later rounds that that thought occurred to me. I just wanted to play well. I really love Australia. That was the goal going into the tournament.
"In the French, I was just thinking about winning, which is something that I don't really do, especially on a surface that I don't typically, you know, have the best results on."
Osaka has never made it past the third round in two previous appearances at Wimbledon but said her game ought to suit grass.
"I feel like it should be good for me because it's very heavily reliant on the first serves, sort of being the first person to be aggressive," she said. "I've been kind of trying to learn every day. I think it's been a very humbling experience."