Osaka annoyed by 5 a.m. anti-doping intrusion

There is little love lost between Naomi Osaka and insensitive anti-doping functionaries, who managed to wake the four-time Grand Slam winner at 5 a.m. for a mandatory blood draw.

For the Japanese player, the draconian anti-doping regime could do with some refinement – and fast.

Players are required to post an hour each day outlining their intended whereabouts in case of surprise testing

.”They’re (the testers) kind of scary..I don’t have a great relationship with them, just because they always come and take blood and urine, and my veins are, like, very notoriously hard to find.

“One person once told me it was like a Japanese thing, (but)  I don’t know if that’s accurate,” the mother of one added.

“So they come at 5:00 a.m. and stick me multiple times. Usually they can’t find my veins, so they have three attempts to find it.

“Sometimes they can’t find it. They’re like, Oops, sorry, let me try this arm, let me try this arm, let me try this arm.

“I always have to tell them, Hey, my playing arm is my right arm, I prefer the left, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

The former No. 1 now ranked 49th as she comes back after giving birth said that her Saturday morning encounter with the medical enforcers did not go smoothly.

“Today was kind of scary, because the last year (2024) I was here they also came at 5:00 a.m., and the lady couldn’t find my veins at all. 

“I had, like, huge bruises on my arms for a while. Thankfully it wasn’t the same lady. No shade to her.

“Yeah, today was a success because luckily I had to use the bathroom when they woke me up, so…”