"Gonna make me cry"- Naomi Osaka turns emotional as fan delights in seeing her live at Cincinnati Open qualifiers; recalls her own such experiences

Naomi Osaka recently became emotional when a fan expressed excitement about attending her match at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. Osaka recalled her own experience of watching her favorite player play live.

The former World No. 1 is currently in the US for the hardcourt swing. She won her first qualifying match at the 2024 Cincinnati Open against Anna Blinkova, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. She will now take on rising star Ashlyn Krueger for a place in the main draw.

A fan of Osaka recently expressed immense joy at finally seeing her play live, after years of watching her matches on television. The fan shared a video from the game on their Instagram Stories with the caption,

"POV: you watched Naomi Osaka on a tv screen growing up and now you see her play in person."

The 26-year-old Japanese player shared the fan's story on her own Stories, reminiscing about her own experience of watching her favorite players live and calling it the 'best experience ever'.

"I have vivid memories of watching my favorite players on tv and watching them live was the best experience ever," Osaka wrote.

She also turned emotional and said she could not believe she was giving fans a same experience.

"I honestly can’t believe I am able to give that feeling to someone else now and it’s really a big honor. You are gonna make me cry over here," she added.

(Source- Naomi Osaka's Instagram handle)

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Naomi Osaka on kids looking up to her: "It definitely means a lot to me"

Naomi Osaka at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024 (Image: Getty)

Naomi Osaka recently opened up about the significance of being a 'role model' for children. At the 2024 National Bank Open, the Japanese tennis star shared with the press that the term 'role model' has taken on a deeper meaning since becoming a mother.

"I was talking with someone about this the other day, but since becoming a mom I think the word "role model" has always been heavy to me, but now it's like I'm looking at kids looking at me and saying that I'm their favorite player, and knowing that they have a parent behind them that's kind of trusting me with that is really huge," Osaka said.

Osaka added that if her daughter Shai had a player's poster, she would do thorough research on the player.

"If I think about Shai, like, having a poster of a player, then I'm going to like do a lot of research on that person, so I really feel the trust and I think it definitely means a lot to me, so I try to pay it back," she added.

Osaka began the North American hardcourt swing at the 2024 National Bank Open, where she lost to Elise Mertens in the second round.