PICTURE: Naomi Osaka receives adorable teddy bear-featuring cake as gift for daughter Shai & herself
Naomi Osaka recently received an adorable cake dedicated to herself and her daughter Shai. The Japanese proceeded to share a picture of it, adding emojis to express her feelings upon receiving the endearing gift.
A former World No. 1 and four-time Major winner, Osaka became a mother to a baby girl in July 2023. The Japanese, along with her partner, rapper Cordae, named the girl Shai. After a long maternity leave that saw her miss almost the entirety of the 2023 season, Osaka returned to action at the start of 2024.
Even though Naomi Osaka is yet to rediscover the rich vein of form that catapulted her into women's tennis' upper echelons a few years ago, she has shown signs that she's still got what it takes to deliver at the sport's highest level. For instance, the Japanese nearly caused a shock upset at the 2024 French Open, where she had the then-World No. 1 Iga Swiatek on the ropes.
Recently, Osaka took to Instagram to share the picture of an adorable cake she received as a gift from an unnamed person. The cake featured a teddy bear and a message that read: 'Thank you Naomi and Shai'.
The Japanese herself added three cute emojis to express her emotions over receiving the heartwarming gift.
Naomi Osaka laid bare her 'embarrassment' due to changes in her body following birth of daughter Shai
Through a heartfelt post on Instagram, Osaka recently laid bare her negative state of mind about her body after becoming a mother. According to the four-time Grand Slam champion, she felt embarrassed about her physical self, especially when she had to wear tight-fitting tennis apparrel.
"Honestly I don’t really know what to caption this post. I wanted to say “body changes throughout the year” but it actually means a lot more to me than that. 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)," Osaka wrote on Instagram.
Osaka's last tennis outing came at the 2024 China Open, where her campaign came to an end due to injury during her fourth-round match against eventual champion Coco Gauff.