Naomi Osaka claims she tried to push through an injury at the Australian Open, but decided to withdraw after feeling her mysterious issue "worsen" during a pre-match warmup.
On Saturday, Osaka was due to meet qualifier Maddison Inglis in the night session on Rod Laver Arena. However, that match never happened after the Japanese 16th-seed pulled out just before the start of her third-round match at Melbourne Park.
Initially, Osaka – who had a tense moment with Sorana Cirstea two days earlier and faced criticism for hyping herself up between the Romanian's serves – announced she was pulling out of the Australian Open through an Instagram post. In her message posted on Instagram, the 28-year-old cited an injury for her withdrawal, but didn't reveal what exactly was the issue.
Later, Osaka also met with the media to share more on her abrupt Australian Open withdrawal.
Osaka: I've had this injury a couple of times before… I have to do more tests
“Yeah, I mean, it’s an injury I’ve had a couple of times before, and I thought I could push through it. 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, so yeah," the former world No. 1 explained.
“Yeah, I mean, I definitely have to do more tests, and obviously I think coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. So this is something I have to be really cautious of. Yeah, I just have to, I guess, talk with a couple of doctors."
In the same presser, Osaka said that she "enjoyed" playing tennis in Melbourne this year and added that she was hoping to "play some good tennis for the rest of the year."
