AUSTRALIAN OPEN champion Naomi Osaka has revealed the terrifying moment she nearly died during a paddleboarding incident.
The world number four was on holiday in the Turks and Caicos Islands with her sister when she suffered a scare.
Speaking to the WTA, Osaka said: “I took my first vacation ever.
“My sister was there.
“She made me paddleboard, and then the current took us and I almost died.”
The 22-year-old added: “Suddenly we hit a current and I’m freaking out a little bit, because the house is getting further.
“Then I fall in the water, so now I’m like thinking about all the sharks in the Caribbean.
“I get back on the board and then she decides that she wants to say that she sees a shark.
“So now I’m like screaming and crying, and I was fine, though, because I’m here.
“But in that moment I just really thought, like, I don’t want to die like that.
Osaka finished the 2019 season by winning the Toray Pan Pacific and China Open, before having to withdraw from the WTA Finals due to a shoulder injury.
The Japanese star returns to the Brisbane International as the No.3 seed and opens her 2020 campaign against dangerous GreekMaria Sakkarion Wednesday.
Osaka is preparing to defend her Australian Open title later this month and beating Petra Kvitova in last year’s tournament.
She was the first woman to win consecutive Grand Slam singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015.
