Naomi Osaka shares emotional message about 'constant inner struggle' ahead of Berlin campaign

Naomi Osaka shared an emotional message on her "constant inner struggle" as she gears up for the Berlin Open. The Japanese-American is set to clash with Liudmila Samsonova in the opening round of the WTA 500 event on Tuesday, June 17.

Osaka opened up about her struggle with anxiety and depression in 2021 when she withdrew from the French Open that year to focus on her mental health. Since then, she has been vocal about athletes' mental health issues and also engages with fans to discuss coping mechanisms, including meditation and journaling, on social media.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion took to Instagram Threads to ask fans:

"I think I’m still trying to find myself and or figure out who I am. Can someone older than me please let me know if that’s a constant inner struggle or is it something we magically figure out one day?"

Screengrab from Naomi Osaka's Instagram @naomiosaka Thread

The Berlin Open will be Naomi Osaka's first outing since her opening-round loss to Paula Badosa at the 2025 French Open. Her early-exit evidently weighed on her as she broke down in tears at a post-match press conference and left midway.

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Naomi Osaka broke down in tears after R1 French Open exit

French Open Tennis Tournament. Roland-Garros 2025. - Source: Getty

Naomi Osaka suffered an opening-round loss at the 2025 French Open to Paula Badosa. In a press conference after the match, Osaka couldn't hold her tears back as she critiqued her form.

"As time goes on, I feel like I should be doing better. But also — I kind of talked about this before, maybe a couple years ago, or maybe recently, I’m not sure ," Osaka said.

She felt she had "disappointed" people, particularly her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

"I hate disappointing people. So even with Patrick, I was thinking this just now… But he goes from working with the greatest player ever [Serena Williams] to, like, ‘What the f*** this is?’ You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing, I hope I don’t get fined, but…" she added.

However, the former World No. 1 appeared to have composed herself and eventually bounced back with an upbeat post on Instagram later.

With the clay season behind her Osaka will hope for a boost at the grass courts of the 2025 Berlin Open. Notably, the title has eluded Osaka in her career so far. Last year, she lost in the opening round of the WTA event to Zheng Qinwen.