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Naomi Osaka recently concluded her 2024 Indian Wells campaign and offered a glimpse of her off-court personality by sharing a hilarious meme featuring American rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
Osaka was defeated by 24th seed Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-4 in the third round, after registering straight-sets victories over Sara Errani and 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the first two rounds.
The meme, titled 'It’s Only My Third Day Out Here I Don’t Know', shows Uzi approaching a school bus and asking a group of kids if they were coming home from school. The kids' affirmative response prompts Uzi to shrug his shoulders to deliver the now-famous line.
Osaka first shared this meme in a post on Instagram on Thursday, March 14, where she also shared a series of pictures from her Indian Wells run. In the caption, she expressed her gratitude by writing:
"IW it’s been fun. I’m so grateful ❤️ thank you, see you again."
Osaka then shared the meme again on her Instagram story with a playful caption:
"Me with everything tennis related lol."
Since her return from maternity leave in January, Osaka has participated in several tournaments with varying results. At the 2024 Brisbane International, she won her first match against German Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6(9), but was defeated in the second by 16th seed Karolina Pliskova in a three-set thriller.
The former World No. 1 then faced early exits in the Australian Open and Abu Dhabi Open after losing in straight sets to 16th seed Caroline Garcia and Danielle Collins, respectively.
However, the four-time Grand Slam champion showed improvement at the Qatar Open, reaching the quarterfinals, where she lost to Pliskova in straight sets.
Naomi Osaka discussed letting down baby daughter Shai after 3R loss in Indian Wells
Naomi Osaka discussed the impact of her departure from the BNP Paribas Open on her daughter, Shai.
After winning her second-round match against 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova, Osaka mentioned that her motivation to win was fueled by Shai's enjoyment of their time in the desert.
"I am just really excited to see Shai after this. I was thinking during the match that I really want to win because she really loves it out here so, who am I to take her away from the desert," she joked in her on-court interview after the second round.
During a post-match press conference following her third-round defeat against 24th seed Elise Mertens, Osaka reflected on these sentiments. The Japanese also shared how Shai had been enjoying activities such as visiting the zoo and going on hikes during their time in Indian Wells.
"Yeah, ruined her dreams," Osaka said. "She was going to the zoo and stuff and we were taking her out, and she sleeps very good here. Hopefully, that trend continues."
"But yeah, I think she enjoyed the change of scenery, and she enjoyed being outside, not too long, though, because she was going to get sunburnt. I took her on a hike and stuff," she added.
