For Naomi Osaka, 2025 will be the year that she hopes to look back on as one where things started to go right for her once again.
Osaka is currently ranked number 16 in the world and enjoyed a welcome return to something that resembles her former glories by reaching the semifinals of the US Open.
Amanda Anisimova praised Osaka after beating her in that semifinal, and the four-time major winner can take a lot of heart from what she’s managed to do in 2025.
Osaka has confirmed her first tournament for 2026, and clearly, she’s feeling good about her game during the second half of the current calendar year.
Osaka got injured at the last tournament in Japan, and now she’s posted a message after her 2025 season came to an end officially.
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Naomi Osaka posts message after the 2025 season draws to a close
Osaka has sat at the top of the world rankings previously, and as a serial major winner, the desire and hunger to get back to those heights appears to be strong.
She has posted a very heartfelt message on social media to all of the people who have supported her during the year as she’s strived to get back to her best.
Osaka said: “Took me a while to get my thoughts together, but here’s my end-of-year recap for 2025.
“When I sit and think about it I just feel very thankful this year. I’m thankful for the people I’ve encountered along the way, though our paths might lead in different directions, I will always appreciate the times we had together.
“I’m also thankful for being relatively injury-free this year (haha, I thought about it, and I was injured at the beginning and end of the season), anyways, I’m thankful for my health and being able to wake up each day ready to chase my dreams.
“I’m also grateful for being able to travel and see the world with my daughter. I’m so honoured that I have such amazing people that support me. I always say this, but I really mean it each time. I don’t know what I did to deserve all this love and support, but thank you infinitely for it.
“I will never be able to pay you back, but I’ll try my best! See you next year, guys.”
Osaka can have a real crack at Grand Slam glory next year
The 28-year-old knows what it’s like to win a major, having claimed four of them during her career, winning twice in Australia and twice at Flushing Meadows.
Osaka will now sit in the top 16 to start the new season, too and in theory, that should give her a huge boost when it comes to getting better draws earlier on in tournaments.
After finishing 2025 with a bit of a flourish, the challenge for 2026 is clear for Osaka, and it’s to make waves once again when it comes to reaching more semifinals and finals at major tournaments.
It would appear, given her message on Instagram, that she’s in confident spirits and as a former world number one, it’s going to be interesting to see what she can do next year.
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