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Playing in her first WTA final for three years, the four-time Grand Slam champion called for the physio after taking the opening set 6-4 and pulled out shortly afterwards.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka (Picture Credit: AP)
Naomi Osaka will undergo a scan on the injury that forced her to pull out of the Auckland Classic final but remains optimistic about playing at the Australian Open, the former world number one said on Monday.
Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 champion at Melbourne Park, was reduced to tears on Sunday when an abdominal injury forced her to quit while leading Clara Tauson 6-4 in her first WTA final in almost three years.
Playing in her first WTA final for three years, against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, the four-time Grand Slam champion called for the physio after taking the opening set 6-4 and pulled out shortly afterwards.
Osaka’s sudden withdrawal from the Australian Open warm-up event came as a shock after playing with no apparent problem in the 35-minute opening set, unleashing some powerful groundstrokes to break her opponent in the third and fifth games.
At the changeover, the 27-year-old stood and performed a series of stretches during a medical timeout.
After consulting with the trainer she shook the hand of Tauson, who picked up a third career title and her first since 2021.
“I’m having an MRI today to assess,” the 27-year-old said in a brief statement.
“I don’t feel that it’s too serious and I still feel very optimistic about AO.”
Osaka had shown glimpses of the form that won her four major titles on her run to the final in Auckland.
It was an anti-climactic finish to the week for Osaka though, who was chasing her first title in four years since winning the 2021 Australian Open.
Her most recent final appearance was at the Miami Open the following year, before taking a 15-month break and giving birth to her first child midway through 2023.
She returned to tennis 12 months ago and has climbed to 57th in the world rankings. She broke back into the top 50 in the world rankings on Monday.
The Australian Open begins on Sunday.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)
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