Naomi Osaka pays tribute to retired Japanese skating legend Yuzuru Hanyu

Naomi Osaka has joined the rest of the sports world in honoring and showing appreciation for Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, who announced his decision to retire from competitive figure skating on July 19.

The 27-year-old skater, affectionately known as the Ice Prince, has been struggling with injuries for some time. Addressing a press conference, Hanyu stated that although he would no longer compete with other professional skaters, and instead would turn his attention to exhibition shows.

"I'll no longer be compared with other skaters as a competitor. I will be extremely sad if people don’t want to watch me anymore, but even then, I will try my best from now on so that people feel like there’s a reason to still watch my skating," Hanyu said.

Hanyu won his first gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and went on to repeat the feat at PyeongChang 2018. But he failed to defend his title at the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year, primarily due to an ankle injury.

Naomi Osaka took to social media on Tuesday to acknowledge Hanyu's extraordinary achievements. She reshared an image posted by one of the star skater's fan pages in her tribute.

"12 senior seasons, 19 world records, first to break the 100, 200, and 300 points barrier, the only men's single skater who has ever completed the Super Slam, and the first to land the 4Lo, 4T3A, 4Teu3F in competition. Yuzuru Hanyu, what an amazing journey it has been," the tweet said.

Hanyu also emerged victorious at the World Championships in 2014 and 2017, where he won the men's singles title. In 2018, he became the youngest recipient of the People's Honor Award, one of Japan's most prestigious laurels.

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Naomi Osaka to play Silicon Valley Classic

Naomi Osaka to play for the first time since French Open.

Naomi Osaka hasn't quite struck top form this season. A number of injuries have prevented the four-time Grand Slam champion from adding to her tally of WTA titles for more than a year.

A prolonged Achilles injury forced Osaka to withdraw from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Prior to that she suffered an early exit at the French Open, losing in the first round to Amanda Anisimova.

The 24-year-old has apparently recovered completely now though, and is set to compete at the highest level again. To get ready for the upcoming US Open, Osaka has decided to enter the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose as a wildcard.

The WTA 500 event, which will be held from August 1-7 on the campus of San Jose State University, also features Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, Elena Rybakina, and Bianca Andreescu.