I had hoped that my first in-depth piece about Naomi Osaka would celebrate a triumphant return—perhaps a victorious final in Auckland, where she came tantalizingly close to claiming her first title since her comeback. Or something even more monumental, like a historic run at the Australian Open that would culminate into a fifth Grand Slam title.
Instead, here we are, parsing through a narrative tinged with frustration and uncertainty. Despite retiring to Clara Tauson after securing the first set in Auckland, optimism lingered when Osaka arrived in Melbourne seemingly ready for battle. By the second round, the whispers of something magical began to take shape. Her commanding win over Karolina Muchova—a satisfying avenging of her US Open defeat—hinted at a resurgence. Against Belinda Bencic in the third round, she looked poised for another deep run, only for it all to unravel. Again.
What stands in her way is not just the quality of her opponents but an injury that feels more chronic and debilitating than we are being led to believe. The abdominal strain that plagued her in Auckland (she would have beaten Tauson)—robbing her serve of its explosiveness and reducing her to slicing feeble attempts into the box—was déjà vu in Melbourne. At 5-3 in the first set against Bencic, the signs were unmistakable: pain, limitation, and a body unable to meet the demands of her skill set (she would have beaten Bencic too).
Osaka herself confirmed the injury’s long shadow. It first reared its head last fall during her match against Coco Gauff at the China Open, where an MRI revealed the alarming extent of the damage: a bulged disc and ruptured abdominal muscles. This wasn’t entirely new territory, as Osaka admitted in candid fashion.
"I've kind of had a history with this since I was a teenager," she shared. "At least once a year, I'd get an ab strain. For me, I think it’s more about the way my serve is—it’s quite explosive."
The injury persisted, casting a long, ominous shadow over the season’s start. Osaka’s victory against Muchova only worsened the condition, a painful reminder of the physical cost of competing at this level.
And here is where the real concern begins. For us couch potatoes, bulging discs and torn abdominal muscles are cause for months of rest and rehabilitation, if not a permanent retreat from strenuous physical activity. Yet Osaka remains on the grind, seemingly caught between her own drive to return to glory and the demands of the machine that surrounds her. Is this Osaka’s determination, or is she being pushed to perform prematurely by a system that cares more about results than her long-term well-being? Either way, I can’t seem to shake the lowkey vibes that Naomi Osaka is really kinda over this shit.
Osaka has spoken of her ambitions to win eight more Grand Slam titles before retiring and does seem to be enjoying herself on the court. And, she has also hinted at a willingness to step away if 2025 doesn’t yield the results she desires. As it stands, she’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a trailblazing icon, and a devoted mother with more money than she’ll ever need. What more does she really need to prove?
The more pressing question is whether Osaka is knowingly driving herself toward an early exit or if those around her are unwittingly doing it for her. Women’s tennis is undeniably richer with her presence, but her presence might be infrequent depending on the fragility of her spine (in the literal sense)—a truth the powers around Osaka best not ignore. Without a healthy Osaka, there is no player, there is no machine. And truthfully, I think Osaka could ultimately be perfectly okay with that.
Even without a strong back or a solid core built for the rigors of the WTA tour, Naomi Osaka will remain iconic. She’ll always be a champion. She’ll always have her place in the history of the game. So for now, I guess the path forward is to stay positive, let’s hope Osaka can get healthy and pace herself accordingly for the rest of the season and beyond.
Twelve Grand Slam titles has a nice ring to it, however, if she falls short and ever decides to hang it up early, there will always be room for her and Shai on the couch with the rest of us. But we don’t want that, not any time soon. For now, I'll keep my laptop ready, I look forward to penning that in-depth, triumphant Naomi Osaka blog post someday.
