Naomi Osaka retires from Auckland final in injury scare ahead of Australian Open
The 27-year-old has just returned to competitive tennis from a 15-month maternity break.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka was tearful after suffering an injury scare just a week before the start of the Australian Open.
Osaka retired from the ASB Classic final in Auckland due to an abdominal injury.
The four-time Grand Slam champion won the first set against Clara Tauson 6-4 before taking an immediate medical time-out that would signal the end of the match.
“I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city and I had a lot of fun playing here,” Osaka said in an on-court interview after she was seen wiping away tears.
“I’m really sorry about how it ended.”
Osaka, playing her first WTA Tour final in nearly three years, raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set on the back of two consecutive breaks.
Tauson staged a mini-fightback but Osaka wrapped up the set before consulting her trainer and ending play.
There must now be doubts over Osaka’s fitness ahead of the Australian Open, which she won in 2019 and 2021.
But the 27-year-old Japanese was not scheduled to play any events this week before the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne.
