Naomi Osaka’s year has been anything but smooth. After enduring shocking defeats and heartbreaking exits from most of the major tournaments she participated in, it seemed like her season was slipping away. Just as the tennis world thought Osaka was ready to make her grand return at the Asian Open, an unexpected health struggle threw her off course yet again. But if there’s one thing Osaka can always count on, it’s the unwavering support of her fans.

The Japanese sensation played her latest match against Coco Gauff in the round of 16 in the China Open. She started on a dominant note, winning the first set 6-3. But soon, the struggle seemed to return for the player, and she decided to withdraw from the match after losing the second set 6-4.

Osaka uneasily moved out of the court with Gauff helping by carrying her bag back to the locker room. She later acknowledged she had a persistent back pain that forced her to retire from to prioritize her health. Now, the star player has shared an update on her status, and the tennis community cannot be in more unison to express their love for her. 

Taking to Instagram, the 26-year-old shared two pictures of herself. In the first picture, she can be seen in her tennis outfit on the courts of Beijing. In the second picture, Osaka can be observed in green attire, similar to those given to patients in hospitals. Captioning the post, the star player wrote, “How the day started -> how it ended lol.” Osaka had returned to the court in January after 15 months away and the birth of her first child. She currently stands at No. 76 and has a 19-16 record this year.

While that might not represent her skills aptly, she has been consistently trying to gain her place back on the ranking ladder. The China Open, where she won three straight matches, marked the second such occasion this year. But, since her close third-round loss (7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5) to No. 1 Iga Świątek in the French Open in May, Osaka has had several early exits including a first-round elimination from the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. But the most disappointing was probably the second-round exit at the U.S. Open.

It was the tournament where she won two of her Grand Slam titles in 2018 and 2020. Osaka made a grand return there for the first time since 2022 with an opening-round win over No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko. The victory that marked Osaka’s first win against a top-10 opponent in four years made her break down with tears. But she fell to No. 52 Karolina Muchova, losing in straight sets. However, despite her recent struggles, it would be wrong to write off her previous accolades. Some trolls made that mistake and the Japanese star did not take time to cut them to size.

She took to Thread to hit out at trolls, calling her a ‘fluke’. “I just saw someone call me a fluke. How is possible to be a fluke with 4 grand slams, lighting the Olympic torch, beating multiple top 20 opponents and being close to top 50 the year after giving birth?… You couldn’t even touch one of my accomplishments with her fingernail,” she wrote. It did not stop just there.

Osaka then shared the post on her Instagram story with the caption, “Did I lieeeee????” But soon she went back to her humorous self. Explaining her social media activity, Osaka further wrote in a Threads post, “Honestly this is probably the most active I will ever get on social media and you can owe it to being bored in Beijing airport LOL.” We like the style of hitting hard and then sugarcoating that! But her struggle behind all her posts did go unnoticed by her fans. They wished her a speedy recovery and a dominant return to the courts yet again. 

Naomi Osaka’s grit and humor hailed by fans

Taking to Instagram, one user wrote, “You’re still the goat. Heal up 🙏” The tennis star has not witnessed one of the best seasons. The highest stage she played was at the Qatar Open and the Rosmalen grass court championships, where she qualified till the quarterfinals. The intensity of the heartbreak was even more at the American Swing. 

Osaka failed to reach even the main draw at the Cincinnati Masters and was ousted in her second qualifier match at the event. However, she has remained a dominant force which can be evident from the fact that she quickly reached closer to the Top 50 and is placed at No. 58 in the WTA Live rankings. Hence, fans have continued to believe in her talent and express support for her. More such reactions followed.

Responding to the post, one user wrote, “Proud of you girl❤️ growth isn’t supposed to be linear.” Remember, Osaka herself revealed how she even struggled to step onto the court but decided to give it a shot against Gauff in her China Open match. “I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try, unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match,” Osaka shared on social media. “Totally worth it though lol,” she added. Similar reactions were witnessed from other users as well who joined the fray to shower their love on Osaka.

“❤️🙏🙏🙏❤️ Praying you get healthy soon. World Tennis is so much better with you on the court 🙏,” a user wrote. The Japanese star took a long hiatus of over a year, to give birth to her daughter Shai in July last year. Although she has failed to make a dominant mark after her return this year, her stature in the sport has remained intact given the 4 Grand Slams and numerous accolades she has received, including the honor of lighting the Olympic Cauldron at the Tokyo Olympics.

One more user expressed similar reactions and said, “Lol We love how you handle the pitfalls with grace and humor. Get well soon.” Osaka is known not just for her skills but also for her humorous and cheeky side. In October last year, the star player shared a clip of herself practicing on the court as she geared up to return to courts. In the video, she can be seen missing a regular backhand shot. However, sportingly sharing the video, she wrote, “Embarrassing for real,” which left her fans in splits. 

Yet another user simply wrote, “Get well soon queen 👸🏻❤️‍🩹,” wishing a speedy recovery to the player. For now, it will be interesting to see how soon Naomi Osaka can return to the courts and if she manages to overcome the struggles she faced this season.