Naomi Osaka revisits adorable childhood desire of wanting to be taken away by popular fairy tale character

Naomi Osaka is recovering from the abdominal strain that led to her third-round exit at the Australian Open by revisiting her childhood memories on social media. Off-court issues have plagued the Japanese former WTA No. 1 for the last couple of years but she is battling her way back to full fitness for the rest of the 2025 season.

Osaka was three years old when she moved to Long Island, New York before her family moved to Florida in 2006 to capitalize on her early promise as a tennis player. She practiced in the daytime and was homeschooled at night, and now, aged 27 and with an already successful career behind her, she appears to be nostalgic about those days of her youth.

Osaka took to Instagram to post a quote from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, under a still image from the 1953 movie of the same name:

"When I was younger I used to wait by the window for Peter Pan to come get me"

Naomi Osaka Instagram

Across the image, Osaka added her own words, suggesting that she yearns for the free and easy days of her youth, and to break free from her current injury woes:

"Me in every universe"

Osaka's withdrawal from the 2025 Australian Open came after a similar exit from the ASB Classic in Auckland. She's now withdrawn from the Abu Dhabi Open. She is concentrating her efforts on getting healthy for a March 1 exhibition match with Anya Sabalenko in Las Vegas.

Naomi Osaka is realistic about her prospects for 2025 after an injury-hit start to the year

2025 Australian Open - Day 6 - Source: Getty

Osaka is a four-time Major winner, with two Australian and two US Opens. In 2019, she reached the World No. 1 spot, but then in 2021 succumbed to several personal issues, including depression, which led to her taking time away from tennis. She remains the first Asian player to be ranked No. 1 by the WTA.

Despite her inability to finish the Auckland and Melbourne tournaments, Osaka had a decent start to the year. She's 6-2 for the year and in both events, the quality of her tennis appeared to be back to somewhere close to her best before her injuries struck. At the Australian Open, she beat France's Caroline Garcia in three sets and then defeated 20th seed Karolina Muchova in the second round.

She's realistic, however, about her 2025 goals, per EssentiallySports.com:

“I think just to know that I’m improving as a person. Just to try as hard as I can every day, no matter what I do, and then I feel like if I do that, the bar of like trying is gonna keep getting taller.”

Getting back to her best is going to be tough, but Osaka is known for her comebacks. She last won a Major in 2021 but showed in early 2025 that if she can become injury-free, she still has the game to compete.