In Pictures: Naomi Osaka explores the sights in Rome ahead of Italian Open 2024

Naomi Osaka is ready to take on the claycourts of Rome for the 2024 Italian Open, which will start on Wednesday, May 7. But before she hit the court, Osaka decided to explore the streets of Rome.

Osaka is coming off a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 loss against 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the second round at the Madrid Open. The Japanese will now make her fifth appearance at the Italian Open, which serves as a key warm-up event for the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, starting on May 26.

Ahead of the campaign, Osaka posted a series of photos on Instagram on Monday, May 6, showing her exploring the city and visiting the Colosseum. In the pictures, she can be seen wearing a camo hoodie and a plated miniskirt, accessorizing her look with a pair of sunglasses, Nike sneakers, and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

"Ciao," Osaka captioned the post, which means "hello" or "goodbye" in Italian.

Osaka will start her Italian Open campaign against 23-year-old Clara Burel, who is ranked 45th in the world, in the first round. Osaka will meet Burel for the first time on the WTA tour.

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Naomi Osaka has a 3-4 win-loss record at the Italian Open

Naomi Osaka in action during the 2021 Internazionali BNL D'Italia

Naomi Osaka has lost 57 percent of her total matches in the WTA 1000 tournament and has amassed $1,15,005 in prize money and 252 points over the years.

Osaka made her debut at the Italian Open in 2017, where she lost 6-2, 6-4 against Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round. The Japanese returned to Rome in 2018, winning her opening match against Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-3. However, the 26-year-old was unable to advance further as she fell 6-1, 6-0 to the top seed and the eventual champion Simona Halep of Romania in the third round.

The four-time Grand Slam champion recorded her best result at the 2019 Italian Open when she made it to the quarterfinals. The Japanese defeated Dominika Cibulkova and Mihaela Buzarnescu in straight sets, before withdrawing from her quarterfinal match against sixth seed Kiki Bertens due to a right hand injury.

Naomi Osaka skipped the 2020 edition of the Italian Open due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Osaka was last seen at the 2021 Italian Open, where she suffered a shock defeat in the first round to Jessica Pegula, 7-6 (2), 6-2. The American then went on to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost 7-5, 6-4 to Croatian Petra Martic.