In Pictures: Naomi Osaka relishes her time in Tokyo, indulges in local cuisine and explores popular immersive digital art museum

Naomi Osaka recently spent her time relishing Tokyo. She savored the local cuisine and explored a popular immersive digital art museum.

After missing out on playing last season due to her pregnancy and subsequently the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023, Osaka made a return to the court this year in Brisbane. She participated in various tournaments throughout the year, with her best performances coming at the Qatar Open and the Libema Open, where she reached the quarterfinals

The former World No. 1's most recent tournament was the 2024 China Open, where she began her campaign by defeating Lucia Bronzetti in the first round. She then went on to beat 21st seed Yulia Putintseva and Katie Volynets in the second and third rounds, respectively.

However, Naomi Osaka faced a setback in the fourth round when she had to withdraw from her match against fourth seed Coco Gauff due to a lower back injury. She was next scheduled to compete at the 2024 Pan Pacific Open but had to withdraw from the tournament due to the same injury.

After the China Open, Naomi Osaka traveled to Japan, where she was seen enjoying a game of pickleball. She also immersed herself in the Halloween festivities in Tokyo

Recently, Osaka took to social media to share a series of pictures and videos of her exploring the city of Tokyo. In one video, she showed off her stylish outfit of the day, which featured a trendy brown bomber jacket and in another video, she shared the food which she would be enjoying.

Screen grab of Naomi Osaka's Instagram stories

The four-time Grand Slam champion also shared several images and videos of her visit to the teamLab Borderless museum, an immersive digital art museum located in Azabudai Hills in Central Tokyo

Screen grab of Naomi Osaka's Instagram stories

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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals 2024

Naomi Osaka pictured at a tournament [Source: Getty]

Naomi Osaka was set to represent Japan at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals scheduled to take place in Malaga, Spain, from November 13, 2024. However, the lower back injury that she sustained during her match against Coco Gauff at the China Open has forced her to withdraw from the tournament.

While speaking to the reporters in Tokyo, Osaka expressed that deciding to not compete at the Billie Jean King Cup was the "toughest decision" she had to make.

"I've played so many tournaments this year, so it was definitely the toughest decision to not play this and obviously not play BJK. I really honestly enjoyed it so much, and I think it helped with my development as a player," Osaka said [as quoted by Kyodo News].

The former World No. 1 revealed that while she initially believed her injury was limited to her lower back, an MRI scan revealed that she also has raptured abdominal muscles.

"I thought I strained my back, but I did an MRI in Beijing, and they said that I bulged a disc in my back and I also raptured abdominal muscles," Osaka added.

Japan will be facing Romania in the first round of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup with the winner advancing to face third-seeded Italy in the quarterfinals.