Naomi Osaka teasingly accuses physiotherapist of “trying to kill her" at ASB Classic 2025

Naomi Osaka playfully accused her physiotherapist, Daniel Pohl, of attempting to "kill her" during the 2025 ASB Classic. Osaka returned to the WTA 250 hard court tournament after a seven year absence, with her last appearance dating back to 2017.

The Japanese is seeded seventh at the ASB Classic and she kicked off her campaign by defeating Israeli qualifier Lina Glushko in 6-4, 6-4 the first round. She then faced Julia Grabher in the second round and won 7-5, 6-3 to secure her spot in the quarterfinals.

Following her second-round win, Naomi Osaka took to social media to share a video of her receiving a post-match recovery massage from her physiotherapist, Daniel Pohl. In the video, the former World No.1 jokingly accused Pohl of trying to kill her and she playfully suggested that she was indeed dying.

“He's trying to kill me. Not the thumbs up (laughing). It's a video of you trying to kill me. You're actually killing me. I'm dying," Osaka said.

“@daniel.phl 😭 😭 😭 Post match struggles," Osaka captioned her Instagram story.

Screen grab of Osaka's Instagram story [Image Source: Instagram]

Prior to the start of her 2025 season, the four-time Grand Slam champion's best result in 2024 was reaching the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open, where she was defeated by Karolina Pilskova. She also made it to the last eight at the Libema Open before being bested by eventual runner-up Bianca Andreescu.

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Naomi Osaka will face Hailey Baptiste or Jodie Burrage in the quarterfinals of ASB Classic 2025

Naomi Osaka at the 2025 ASB Classic [Image Source: Getty Images]

Naomi Osaka will take on either American Hailey Baptiste or lucky loser Jodie Burrage in the quarterfinals of the 2025 ASB Classic. This will be the first time Osaka faces either player on the WTA Tour.

Baptiste had a strong start at the WTA 250 hard court tournament, defeating wild card Renata Jamrichova 6-0, 6-2 in the first round to secure her place in the second round where she will face Burrage. On the other hand, the Brit secured her spot in the second round by defeating wild card Vivian Yang 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round.

After the conclusion of the 2025 ASB Classic, Naomi Osaka is expected to compete in the 2025 Australian Open. She has previously won the Grand Slam title twice - first time in 2019 by defeating Petra Kvitova in the final and again in 2021 by triumphing over Jennifer Brady in the championship match.