Naomi Osaka completes "mommy duties"; goes on a fun adventure with daughter Shai while recovering from back injury
Naomi Osaka recently shared a glimpse of fulfilling her 'mommy duties' for her daughter, Shai. The Japanese had sustained a lower back injury while competing at the China Open earlier, withdrawing midway through her match against Coco Gauff on October 1.
Osaka's campaign in Beijing started on a promising note, as she defeated Lucia Bronzetti, Yulia Putintseva, and Katie Volynets. She then went up against Coco Gauff in the Round of 16, where Osaka won the first set of the match before withdrawing to hand over the win to Gauff, with the score reading 3-6, 6-4.
Days after her withdrawal, Osaka shared a glimpse of enjoying her time with her little daughter, Shai, who was born in July 2023. The 2021 Australian Open winner shared a video on her Instagram story on October 15, where Osaka was seen spending time with her daughter. She captioned the story:
"Mommy duties."
A day before, Osaka had shared an update about her injury in a Q&A session on Instagram, writing that it has 'gotten worse than she thought' and said she will try her best to play in Tokyo. However, she ended up withdrawing from the Japan Women's Open.
Naomi Osaka on raising her daughter Shai: "I'm trying to be really efficient with everything"
Naomi Osaka talked about raising her baby girl, Shai, and the changes that have come after her birth. While appearing in an episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast in April, Osaka said that 'she doesn't have time to waste' after becoming a mother because she knows she has someone waiting for her at home.
"I just feel like I don't have time to waste. I'm trying to be really efficient with everything. When I was younger, I could hit for three hours and waste time in the middle or whatever but now I know that someone's waiting for me at home and I have to take care of her so I just feel like every second counts," Noami Osaka said.
Along with this, Osaka also shared how she came to appreciate the efforts her mother, Tamaki Osaka put in, after experiencing motherhood herself.
"I talk to my mom a lot and I appreciate her way more now that I'm a mom and I'm going through the feelings that she was going through like a mom's job is never over."
While Naomi Osaka was initially expected to participate in the Pan Pacific Ocean, taking place from October 21- 27 in Tokyo, her latest injury has cast doubts regarding the same.