"I judge myself harshly" - Naomi Osaka almost overcomes fear of sharing old pictures but 'overthinking' soon kills the mood

Naomi Osaka shared a snap of herself standing before the Olympic rings and jet skiing, overcoming her fear of posting throwback pictures. The 27-year-old is enjoying her off-season and gearing up for the 2025 Australian Open.

Osaka, the former World No. 1, ended her 2024 season early due to a back injury. She last competed at the China Open, losing to Coco Gauff in the fourth round. Shortly after, she returned to training and has been posting updates about her progression on the court and in the gym.

On December 21, 2024, the four-time Grand Slam champion posted two throwback pictures, opening up about how she contemplated posting them but soon realized she was overthinking. The first picture featured her jet skiing, paired with the caption:

"Going through the camera and I'm about to post stuff I never posted cause I judge myself harshly lol"

Naomi Osaka jet skiing; Instagram - @naomiosaka

The second stories post had her in front of the Olympic rings, paired with the caption:

"Yeah. I started overthinking again lol. I'm going to sleep Gn"

Naomi Osaka posing in front of the Olympic rings; Instagram - @naomiosaka

She shared another post to reveal that she had designed her outfit for the 2024 Australian Open, expressing wonder at her partner brand Nike's trust in her.

"I realize not a lot of people know that I designed my Australian Open outfit for 2024. Idk why Nike let me do this but I'm excited for everyone to see the outfits to come lol"

Winning titles at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open made Osaka the second person after Serena Williams to win their first two major singles titles at back-to-back tournaments.

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Naomi Osaka weighed in on the importance of being vocal about mental health struggles

Naomi Osaka at the 2024 China Open - (Source: Getty)

Osaka was featured in the Harper's Bazaar Australia, gracing the cover of the January 2025 edition. She talked about the importance of feeling less shame in opening up about mental health struggles.

"That it’s okay to not be okay. I think there’s historically been a lot of shame and embarrassment in these types of things, but there definitely shouldn’t be. We all go through challenges and it’s important to talk about it and help each other through," Naomi Osaka advised.

She further highlighted that conversations play an integral role in changing the culture around mental health.

"I honestly believe that talking about it and just being more transparent is key to changing the culture around mental health. For so long it felt like it was a subject that wasn’t supposed to be talked about, but I think the more we talk about it, the more we realize how many people are struggling with it."

Osaka became the first Japanese player to light the Olympic lamp at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.