Naomi Osaka had a little bad luck but she didn’t let that ruin her big day. On her 28th birthday, the Japanese tennis star found herself celebrating in the hospital after suffering a late-match injury scare at her hometown tournament. Still, in true Osaka fashion, she kept her spirits high, joking about the ordeal online and proving that even a trip to the hospital couldn’t dampen her sense of humor.
How Did Naomi Osaka Have To Spend Her 28th Birthday in a Hospital?
Osaka is competing in Japan, making her fifth appearance at the WTA 250 event in her hometown of Osaka. The top seed opened her campaign by dismantling local wildcard Wakana Sonobe 6-0, 6-4 in the opening round.
However, her next outing against defending champion Suzan Lamens proved far more dramatic. The encounter stretched to three sets, with Osaka ultimately emerging victorious 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2 after a grueling 2-hour, 20-minute battle that tested her physical and mental endurance.
Osaka appeared in complete control in the deciding set, racing to a 5-0 lead before an injury scare briefly silenced the crowd. She suddenly called for a medical timeout to receive treatment on her left leg and returned to the court with heavy strapping on her thigh.
Though she dropped the next two games, the four-time Grand Slam champion eventually sealed the win with a backhand winner. Visibly emotional, she bent over and covered her face before approaching the net, appearing to fight back tears as she secured her spot in the quarterfinals.
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The next day, which also happened to be her birthday, Osaka took to Threads to poke fun at the situation, writing, “Certified crash out ❤️” followed by another post that read, “Going to the hospital on your birthday is a whole new level of hilarious.”
Osaka Shares Emotional Response After Receiving an Early Birthday Surprise from Her Mother
Osaka recently reacted to a thoughtful gesture from her mother, Tamaki, who sent her a bouquet a few days before her birthday. After her first-round win, Osaka shared the photo on social media, noting that her mom is always the first to wish her and that this year, Tamaki broke her record by doing it three days early.
“lol my mom is always the first to wish me happy birthday 😂 3 days early is a new record haha,” Osaka captioned her Instagram story.
The world No. 16 reached the quarterfinals for the first time in her home tournament, where she will take on Jaqueline Cristian. This will be their first matchup on the WTA Tour, with the winner advancing to the semifinals, where they will face either sixth seed Olga Danilović or the quarterfinal winner between third seed Elise Mertens and Tereza Valentova.