Hong Kong holds a special place in the career of Naomi Osaka. It was at this very tournament that she defeated Venus Williams back in 2017 and caught the eye of the tennis world. The Japanese star went on to reach the quarterfinals and her performances were widely hailed by the fans there. While Osaka missed the subsequent editions of the tournament, she was slated to play this year. However, a last-minute withdrawal ended her dreams of playing in front of some of her biggest fans. As a result, she made an emotional revelation to the fans for missing this year’s edition.

An untimely back injury forced Osaka to pull out of the Hong Kong Open. Despite not playing in the event, Osaka visited there and explored the region. During her tour, she was widely greeted by the fans who showered all her love despite Osaka missing the tournament. As a result, the Japanese star was left in awe of her fans.

She took to her official Instagram handle and shared a story in which she wrote, “Honestly, I don’t know what I did to deserve it but thank you for being so kind to me Hong Kong. I know I joke about feeling at home in so many different places but you’ve truly made me feel like I’m back home whenever I come here.”

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time that she turned emotional while communicating to her fans after Hong Kong Tennis Open withdrawal. When she announced her decision to skip the event, Osaka said, “I’m really sorry that I have had to withdraw from competing at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open and the rest of this tennis season. I love visiting the tournament and despite the obvious disappointment of not being able to play.”

It has been a mixed year for Osaka filled with ups and downs. In another social media post, she expressed the difficulties of making a comeback as a mother.

Naomi Osaka struggled to deal with body image issues

Last year, Osaka gave birth to her first child, Shai. Subsequently, she made a comeback earlier this year but it wasn’t without frequent injury setbacks. Additionally, Osaka also struggled to deal with her body image post-pregnancy. The Japanese star highlighted these issues in an emotional social media post.

She said, “There were moments this year where I felt really ashamed of my body. For example, when I had to wear form-fitting tennis clothes lol. Seeing other moms seemingly shrink immediately after having their baby was an expectation I began to put on myself. That self-comparison always hurt because I felt as an athlete I should be losing weight quicker than most, I was in the gym every day so that thought didn’t feel too unrealistic. Most weeks would feel similar to the previous week, and the weight didn’t disappear overnight so it was a bit disheartening.”

Despite these struggles, Osaka aims to have a better 2025 season after calling an end to her current season early. She is suffering from a back injury and will skip the remainder of the tournaments this season.