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Naomi Osaka shared a new image of the painful open blisters on her knuckles after losing the first round of the 2025 French Open“I genuinely cannot bend these fingers all the way lol,” the tennis star wrote on Instagram, per the New York Post Following the match, Osaka became emotional as she admitted, “I hate disappointing people”
Naomi Osaka has revealed a painful injury following her first round exit from the 2025 French Open on Monday, May 26.
The tennis star, 27, shared an Instagram Stories post of a cluster of open blisters on her knuckles on Thursday, May 29. “I genuinely cannot bend these fingers all the way lol,” she wrote, per the New York Post. The four-time Grand Slam champion lost the first round of the French Open to Spain’s Paula Badosa in three sets, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.
In a subsequent Instagram Stories post, Osaka shared an image of her sneakers on a court and wrote per the New York Post, “Me: ‘I’m sick of this I’m gonna take a break for a while,’ ” followed by “Me a day after my match because I have anxiety if I don’t work out.”
In a post-match press conference held on May 26, Osaka explained she had been working through the tough blisters since the Italian Open earlier this month. “Since Rome, I have had blisters on my hands,” she said, per BBC Sport. “I think it’s the friction of clay because I don’t have blisters on any other surface.”
Noami Osaka examines her hand after slipping on the clay during her first round match at the 2025 French Opem.
Tim Clayton via Getty
During her match against Badosa, 27, Osaka also called a medical timeout after the end of the first set as she struggled with the blisters, according to the outlet.
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The sports star then became emotional during the press conference and started to cry, according to the New York Post.
“I hate disappointing people,” she said. “Even with [coach] Patrick [Mouratoglou], I was thinking just now, he goes from working with like the greatest player ever [Serena Williams] to like, what the f–– this is.”
Naomi Osaka during her first round match at the 2025 French Open.
Robert Prange/Getty
Photos from the match show Osaka briefly kneeling on the ground and examining her fingers.
In 2024, Osaka was forced to forfeit in the second round of the China Open due to a back injury. In a heartwarming show of sportsmanship, U.S. player Coco Gauff, who was Osaka’s opponent at the time, helped her move her bags off the court.
In a video of the moment posted to X at the time, Gauff, 21, asked Osaka if she was okay or needed any help, with Osaka replying in a surprised voice saying “Really?” Gauff then grabbed one of Osaka’s tennis bags to carry and the two walked off the court to cheers from the crowd.
AloJapan.com