Naomi Osaka out of Japan Open with back injury - will she return at Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo or is season over?
Updated 07/10/2024 at 17:45 GMT+1
Naomi Osaka looked in good form at the China Open before a back injury forced her to retire from her last-16 clash against eventual tournament winner Coco Gauff. Former world No. 1 Osaka has now withdrawn from the Japan Open and there is doubt whether she will play again this season. Osaka has started working with Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Dimitrov and Fritz advance at the Shanghai Masters
Video credit: SNTV
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Japan Open due to a back injury, placing in doubt whether she will play again this season.
The former world No. 1 was forced to retire after the second set of her China Open last-16 clash with Coco Gauff last week.
Gauff, who went on to win the tournament, helped Osaka carry her bags off the court.
The injury has forced four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka to withdraw from her home tournament in the city of Osaka.
"Due to injury, Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the tournament," the Japan Tennis Association said in a statement.
The WTA 250 Japan Open starts on October 14.
Will Osaka play again this season?
Osaka, who is making her comeback this season after giving birth last July, had won three matches at the China Open before her injury against Gauff.
It was just the third time this season that Osaka had recorded three wins at a single tournament.
Explaining her injury, she said on social media: "So I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn't sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try. Unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match."
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Osaka posted a photo of herself on social media after her China Open withdrawal, appearing to show her wearing a hospital gown.
The 26-year-old is entered into the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open, which runs from October 21-27 in Tokyo.
Osaka has not played in Japan since the 2022 Pan Pacific Open, when her opponent Daria Saville retired after one game in the first round, and then she withdrew ahead of her second-round match due to abdominal pains.
It is currently unclear whether Osaka will play another tournament this season aside from the Pan Pacific Open.
Osaka ‘getting more comfortable’ with Mouratoglou
The China Open was Osaka’s first tournament with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
The former coach of Serena Williams has replaced Wim Fisette on Osaka’s team.
Osaka has admitted that she is “still a bit nervous” around Mouratoglou, who she has said has a "big persona", but added: “Day by day we’re getting more comfortable around each other.
“He’s very confident in my abilities, and that in turn makes me very confident. His coaching style - he lets me figure things out, but at the same time he’ll tell me things.
“He’s surprisingly very strict, and that works for me.”
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