Naomi Osaka says the hardest thing to accept about her 2025 season is feeling that she could have easily made a deep Australian Open run, but instead of kicking off her year with a bang, she found herself treating an injury and going from scratch again.
For Wednesday's schedule, the Indian Wells organizers put the Japanese's first-round match in prime time.
But in what was her first match since retiring versus Belinda Bencic in the Australian Open third round, the former world No. 1 struggled heavily and blasted over 50 unforced errors before world No. 53 Camila Osorio completed a 6-4 6-4 win.
Previously, Osaka made the Auckland final in the first week of 2025 - and was even up by a set against Clara Tauson - before being forced to retire due to an abdominal injury.
Then, the two-time Australian Open winner started her run at Melbourne Park with very notable wins against Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova before retiring injured against Bencic.
Osaka on the part that 'sucks' about her 2025
"I would say the hardest thing is, like, feeling like I could have done extremely well in the Australian Open, and then just having to, I guess, get into the repetition of practicing again and trying to get stronger for tournaments like this one and then not doing well here, it kind of, I don't know, it sucks, but, like, I feel like I'm also used to it from last year," the 27-year-old explained.
"Like, when I think about last year, I feel completely fine right now, because I know that, I don't know, it just feels like a little bump in the road. I'll be back in Miami, and hopefully I'll have way more serve practice under my belt and things like that."
Osaka has undoubtedly gone through some rough moments this year, with the toughest probably being retiring in the Auckland final while up by a set.
After retiring from that match, the Japanese was in tears and heartbroken because she really wanted to win her first title as a mom.
