The Japanese star, Naomi Osaka, did not have a great run in 2022. She struggled to get past the initial round in her last major tournament, the French Open, and withdrew from Wimbledon owing to her Achilles injury. Now, the former world no.1 is gearing up for the hard-court season.

Ahead of her potential comeback, the Japanese star received a surprising gift from her beloved sister. Her elder sister, Mari Osaka, designed a racquet for her and when Naomi Osaka announced about the same on Instagram, the former tennis player couldn’t contain her excitement.

Mari Osaka designs Naomi Osaka’s racquet

Naomi Osaka announced the new tennis racquet designed by Mari Osaka in collaboration with Yonex tennis on her Instagram. Osaka uploaded the pictures and a video of the racquet. She stated, “A brand new beautiful racquet designed by my talented sister @mari.osaka. Big thank you to @yonex_tennis for being like a family and supporting me all these years (p.s you can get these racquets and bag on Aug 25).”

Her sister could not contain the excitement and commented, “nah cuz I’m actually dying”. 

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Mari Osaka herself is a former tennis player. She retired in 2021 at the age of 24, stating that she does not enjoy tennis anymore. Following her retirement, the player has shifted her focus to fashion designing. She used the experience that she garnered over the past year to design the new racquet.

How is Osaka faring in 2022?

Osaka’s best performance of the season came in Miami. The 4-time Grand Slam champion strived hard and reached the finals of the Miami Open. However, the incumbent world no.1 Iga Swiatek defeated Osaka in straight sets to leave the Japanese star trophyless for the season.

Furthermore, she suffered an Achilles injury which hindered her game in the French Open, and later on, she eventually drew out from Wimbledon. Nevertheless, that has not made the former world no.1’s desire to compete this season, and she is all set to begin her hard-court campaign.

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She is taking part in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic and will face Qinwen Zheng in the round of 32. Despite having an unfruitful year, Osaka will strive her best during the hard-court season and will try her best to add to her two US open titles.