During the Australian Open, Naomi Osaka has distinguished herself both on and off the court. On the court, her athleticism complemented her distinctive fashion. Off the court, earlier in the week, she apologized for a remark she made about Sorana Cirstea.
Now, the Australian Open will be without Osaka. On Saturday, it was confirmed that Osaka has withdrawn from the tournament due to an abdominal injury, per Jake Michaels of ESPN. Osaka was supposed to compete against Australian Maddison Inglis in the third round at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
On social media, she said that she had sustained the injury during her second-round match against Cirste.
“It's an injury I've had a couple of times before, and I thought I could push through it,” she said. “I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it. But I warmed up, and it got a lot worse.”
While leading the set 2-1, Osaka had to take a medical timeout. That became the impetus for her to withdraw from the tournament.
“I've had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match,” Osaka posted to social media Saturday evening. “I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can't risk doing any further damage.
“Thanks for all the love and support. I'm so grateful everyone embraced me so much.”
As a result of Osaka's withdrawal, Inglis will now play No. 2-ranked Iga Świątek. Notably, Osaka won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.
