Naomi Osaka shows off her curls in latest selfie drop while recovering from heartbreaking Australian Open exit
Naomi Osaka of Japan made a disappointing exit from the ongoing Australian Open. She retired from her third-round match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic due to an unfortunate abdominal injury. The tennis star recently took to her Instagram to share a few pictures showing off her curly hair.
The 4-time Grand Slam winner has been struggling to make a comeback in Major tournaments due to her injury. She also withdrew from the ASB Classic final on January 5 against Clara Tauson due to the same reason.
Osaka addressed her recurring injury struggles in the post-match press conference:
"Update on my injury is it's not fantastic and I'm feeling I mean not great not bad in the middle somewhere. We were doing everything we could like, I was going to therapy every day and stuff like that in the night," said Naomi.
She added:
"It's kind of hard just to stay in the moment sometimes in regards to like getting injured because obviously I was in the final in Auckland too and it s*cks because I also think I could have maybe won that tournament and it could have been like my first tournament win back but yeah I think I played really well today"
Naomi is on her way to recovery and hopes to get back on court for upcoming tournaments as soon as possible.
Naomi Osaka's struggles amid mental health concerns
Naomi Osaka has been very vocal about her struggle with mental health issues. She publicly addressed her distress with depression and anxiety on her social media platforms in 2021. She also withdrew from that year's French Open tournament due to immense pressure to perform, which was followed by her withdrawal from Wimbledon as well.
The Japanese continues to deal with problems in her personal life as well. She recently ended her 5-year-long relationship with American rapper Cordae. The separation too, might have contributed to her struggle with mental health issues.
Naomi Osaka, however, has been positive about her life post-separation. Reflecting on the brighter side of it, she said their time together was memorable with their one-year-old daughter Shai being the highlight.