Naomi Osaka makes her feelings known after heartbreaking ASB Classic final injury

Naomi Osaka recently opened up about the heartbreaking injury she sustained during the ASB Classic Finals on Sunday, January 5. The Japanese withdrew from the match against Clara Tauson in the second set, with the score reading 6-4 in her favor.

After ending her 2024 season on a premature note due to an injury during the China Open, Naomi Osaka started her 2025 season at the ASB Classic on a strong note, defeating Lina Glushko, Julia Grabher, Hailey Baptiste en route to the semifinal.

In the semifinal, Osaka faced Alycia Parks and breezed past the American with ease to set up a final with Clara Tauson. Following her unfortunate end to the tournament, the Japanese opened up about her injury in a post-match interview. Emphasizing the injury, the interviewer brought up some of the superstitions that the World No. 57 had.

In response, the 27-year-old expressed disappointment in the manner her campaign at Auckland ended but thanked the support and said:

"Now that you mention it, I didn’t eat breakfast today so maybe that’s why I should stick to my superstitions.I want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city. I had a lot of fun playing here. I’m really sorry about how it ended. I hope you enjoyed the tennis that we did play, I’m just really grateful to be here," Naomi Osaka said.

Throughout her run in Auckland, Osaka put up a stellar show, dropping only one set in the entire campaign (against Hailey Baptiste) en route to the championship match.

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Naomi Osaka opened up on key area that helped her reach ASB Classic SF

Naomi Osaka started her 2025 season with a comfortable win over qualifier Lina Glushko and Julia Grabher, followed by a comeback win against Hailey Baptiste in the quarterfinal, winning 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2.

Reflecting on her undefeated start to the season and making her first semifinal since 2022, Osaka revealed the reason behind her run and said that confidence was a key factor alongside her off-season training.

“I think the key focuses I had were to have a lot of belief and confidence in myself. I think I put a lot of work in throughout last year. Even though the results didn’t show it, I think just continuing to try as hard as I can and to see where it gets me," Naomi Osaka said.

Following her withdrawal from the finals in Auckland, the four-time Grand Slam winner is expected to compete at the Australian Open 2025.