Naomi Osaka isn’t shy about sharing her personal journey on social media, and in her latest post, the four-time Grand Slam champion opened up about experiencing hair loss after pregnancy—and her path to recovery.
The former world No. 1 has been giving fans a peek into her life back in her hometown of Osaka, Japan, where she is the top seed at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open, a WTA 250 tournament. Among her recent highlights was a lively visit to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan with friends, where she playfully claimed on Instagram, “p.s. I can beat everyone in Mario Kart. Yes, that includes you ️.”
Osaka also took to TikTok to candidly discuss her postpartum hair journey in a video titled “For My Hair Girlies Only.” Laughing, she began, “This is a very weird video. I’ve been really struggling with my hair for like the past two years. Like, during pregnancy and after pregnancy I lost my edges and stuff.”
She added with pride, “They’re back now. Well, kind of. Kind of! Don’t look too closely. I also dyed my hair a lot, so I had to cut it off, blah, blah, blah. But I think it’s back now.”
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According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, postpartum hair loss—known as telogen effluvium—is common after childbirth. It occurs when hormone levels return to normal, and typically resolves within 6 to 12 months, with most women regaining their hair’s usual thickness.
Osaka, who welcomed her daughter Shai on July 7, 2023, took a break from tennis in late 2022 before returning to training just two weeks after giving birth. She has been open about the challenges of body image and the pressures—both internal and external—to “snap back” quickly.
In her TikTok, she shared, “Anyway, I’ve been wearing a ponytail, as you can tell, because I didn’t know how to wear my hair. And then I watched one TikTok yesterday—don’t look too close, again—but I think we’re back! Hey!”
Fans flooded the comments with love and support. One user wrote, “Those are literally hair goals girlie ,” while another added, “It’s definitely back! …It looks fuller and healthier for sure.” Others offered helpful tips like, “As soon as you popped up all I thought was the curls look so good … Edges look good too, just be careful with tight styles.”
Osaka’s comeback is not limited to her hair. The 26-year-old has been excelling on court, reaching her first WTA 1000 final since 2022 at Montreal, where she finished runner-up to hometown favorite Victoria Mboko. She also made a deep run at the US Open, beating Coco Gauff en route to the semifinals—significant milestones since her return to competition last January.
At the Japan Open, Osaka entered as the No. 1 seed and kicked off her campaign with a commanding 6-0, 6-4 victory over Japanese wild card Wakana Sonobe. She is set to face Suzan Lamens next, vying for a spot in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
