"Holding on for dear life" - Naomi Osaka bonds with mom Tamaki after Indian Wells heartbreak, shares amusing fear of her driving

Naomi Osaka spent some quality time with her mother, Tamaki, following her defeat at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Osaka also hilariously shared her fear of her mother's driving skills.

Osaka, who had won the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in California in 2018, began her campaign this year by facing Camila Osorio in the first round and lost 6-4, 6-4. This marked the first time that the Japanese had been defeated by Osorio in their two encounters on the WTA Tour.

After her loss, Naomi Osaka took to social media to post a couple of pictures of herself in a car, with her mother Tamaki behind the wheel. In the images, Osaka can be seen holding on tightly, jokingly expressing her fear of her mother's driving.

"Me when my mom's driving," Osaka captioned her Instagram story.

"Holding on for dear life," she added.

Screen grab of Osaka's Instagram stories [Image Source: Instagram]

Before competing at Indian Wells, Naomi Osaka had participated at the ASB Classic, where she secured victories against Lina Glushko, Julia Grabher, Hailey Baptiste, and Alycia Parks. She reached the final against Clara Tauson and won the first set 6-4 but was forced to retire due to an abdominal injury.

The former World No.1 then competed at the Australian Open, where she triumphed over Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova in the first two rounds before withdrawing during her third-round match against Belinda Bencic due to a strained abdominal muscle.

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Naomi Osaka is next expected to compete at the Miami Open 2025

Naomi Osaka was the runner-up at the 2022 Miami Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Naomi Osaka is expected to participate next in the 2025 Miami Open, which is scheduled to take place from March 18 to March 30, 2025, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

In 2024, Osaka used her protected ranking to secure a spot in the main draw of the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Florida. She defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4 and 15th seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-6(5) in the first and second rounds, respectively, before falling to 23rd seed Caroline Garcia 7-6(4), 7-5 in the third round.

Osaka's best result at the Miami Open came in 2022. She kicked off her campaign by defeating Astra Sharma 6-3, 6-4 in the first round and then bested 13th seed Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.

The former World No.1 then advanced to the fourth round after her third-round opponent, Karolina Muchova, withdrew due to a left abdominal injury, Osaka defeated Alison Riske 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round to move to the quarterfinals.

In the last eight, Naomi Osaka emerged victorious over ninth seed Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-1, and in the semifinals, she overcame 22nd seed Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to secure a spot in the final. However, Osaka fell short of claiming the title, finishing as the runner-up after a 4-6, 0-6 defeat to second seed Iga Swiatek.