After winning the China Open in 2019, Naomi Osaka was able to return to Beijing just two years ago, hoping to “lift a trophy again sometime soon.” As the first Asian woman to reach world No. 1, the Asian swing has long held a special place in her season. Her campaigns in 2024 and 2025, however, ended in disappointment. This year, following a stretch of strong results, she finally began to feel the pieces of her new game fall into place. But then came Karolina Muchova, ending her hopes of a second China Open title in the fourth round after two hours and 52 minutes. And exiting the tournament, Osaka’s mind inevitably harked back to the letters she receives from Chinese fans — which, on more than one occasion, have made her cry. Knowing how deeply her fans feel the highs and lows with her, she made sure to leave a message for those who might have been “gutted” by the loss.

“Adding on this to say I’ve seen some people say they’re gutted for me, please don’t be sad!,” said Osaka on Threads. “My life is a blessing, I’m literally going to fly back home- see my beautiful daughter and spend my birthday with my family for the first time in years. I tried my best and I’ll have an opportunity to try again in Tokyo, It’ll be alright!”

To reassure her fans further, she added her positive takeaways from the match: “it was the first time since Bad Homburg that my Achilles wasn’t bothering me and I’m also happy with my attention span throughout the entire match lol.”

With her birthday falling on October 16, Osaka has often spent the date amid the demands of the Asian swing. The Asian swing is at its peak during this time on the tennis calendar, with events in Beijing, Wuhan, and Tokyo. Now, after a long while, she’ll be able to celebrate her day with her loved ones.

After giving birth to her daughter, Shai, in 2023, Osaka has also spoken about how tennis took a backseat to her role as a mother. Ahead of the US Open this year, the two-time champion at Flushing Meadows called the sport her “side hustle”. And after her fourth-round exit, she added that she was “happy that I’m taking losses differently,” pointing instead to her daughter’s health and her family’s wellbeing. Her fans, hence, wouldn’t mind Osaka’s decision to skip the upcoming Wuhan Open, which runs 12-18 October.

Osaka has earlier said that despite the kind of attention she receives from Chinese fans, she has never felt “burdened” by it. For her, it is “kind of like my home swing,” with fans now even bringing gifts for her daughter. “Give this to Shai,” they’d say, with Osaka joking about her new role, saying, “Okay, I’m like UPS or something.”

Before her opening round this year, she shared a picture of the gifts she’d received — from handwritten letters to custom merchandise featuring cartoon chibi illustrations of the Japanese star. Even after her three-set defeat to Muchova, a fan wrote a letter to simply comfort her. The fan had written it so Osaka could read it after the match regardless of the result, telling her that if she lost, “you have already given it your all,” while also invoking a Chinese saying about victory and defeat being part of battle.

Osaka shared a part of the letter to Instagram stories, writing, “Words cannot describe..I genuinely don’t deserve you all and I am so grateful. Thank you so much for writing this letter; thank you for cheering for me, thank you for making me feel like my existence means something.”

Playing Muchova has always been a challenge for Osaka, with the Czech player having a 4-3 head-to-head record against the Japanese player ahead of the Beijing clash. On this occasion, Osaka held a 4-1 lead in the first but could not drive it home, as Muchova mounted a tremendous comeback to win the set 7-5.

The second set saw Osaka take an early lead as well, and this time the four-time champion managed to hold on to her lead. She broke Muchova twice to win the second set 6-1. With all the momentum behind her, the former World No.1 took yet another 3-1 lead in the final set, only for Muchova to square it at 3-3. Serving at 4-5, Osaka showed the mettle of a champion, saving five match points to make it 5-5, and take the match to a deciding set tiebreak.

Muchova kept her nose ahead on the scoreboard, but Osaka was in no mood to relent, saving three more match points in the tiebreak. Muchova did prove the stronger of the two in the end, with the Czech player converting on her ninth match point. And like that, Osaka lost a great opportunity to go deep in the tournament again, with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina already knocked out of the draw.

That said, having a daughter might have reshuffled Osaka’s priorities in managing her schedule, but the former World No.1 has been adamant that Shai is her inspiration to keep going. The will to play still burns bright for the four-time Major champion, which was evident from what she said after her Miami Open loss this year.

“Obviously, I would love to play, but like I said last year … for me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mom,” said Osaka after her opening round exit in Miami. “I want to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult.”

That isn’t the same as obsessing over eventual results, though. Since her comeback in 2024, Osaka has had some memorable runs, but she has yet to win a Tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open. After her comeback, the World No. 17 has reached three finals on the Tour. However, she has made it clear that she is not focused on the outcome. At the Bad Homburg Open, she was asked about the lack of a title. And her response was blunt: “I mean, I don’t really mind regardless.”