Naomi Osaka recently opened up about the one “fear” she has let go of since turning 28 years old. The former World No. 1 celebrated her 28th birthday on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Osaka most recently competed at the 2025 Japan Women’s Open, which started on October 13, 2025, and will run until October 19, 2025. The matches of the WTA 250 hard court tournament are taking place at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan.
Naomi Osaka Reveals One Fear She Has Let Go of Since Her 28th Birthday
Osaka was the top seed at the 2025 Japan Women’s Open, and she began her campaign by defeating her compatriot, wild-card entrant Wakana Sonobe, in the first round, winning with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-4.
The four-time Grand Slam champion then advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Suzan Lamens after a challenging second-round match, with a final score of 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2. During her match against Lamens, Osaka suffered a leg injury and called for a medical timeout. She was seen with her left thigh heavily wrapped before finishing the match.
Osaka was scheduled to face Jaqueline Cristian in the quarterfinals, but she withdrew just hours before the match. Cristian advanced in the tournament with a walkover and will compete against qualifier Tereza Valentová in the semifinals.
After her second-round match at the 2025 Japan Women’s Open, the former World No. 1 needed to check into a local hospital to have her injury evaluated. She shared photos of her time at the hospital on social media, noting that she spent her birthday there.
Recently, Osaka shared a series of videos on social media featuring moments with her mother Tamaki, sister Mari, friends, team members, and much more.
Osaka expressed that she had developed a “fear” of being perceived negatively over the past few years. As a birthday gift to herself, she has decided to let go of that fear.
“I think I built up a fear of being perceived wrongly for the last few years so I began to close myself off a lot haha. As a 28th birthday present to myself I decided to try and let that fear go 😖☺️🙈 it is what it is lol,” Osaka captioned her Instagram post.
Before concluding her campaign at the 2025 Japan Women’s Open, Osaka competed at the China Open and the Wuhan Open during the Asian swing of the Tour. There she lost in the second round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Linda Nosková, respectively.
AloJapan.com