MELBOURNE, Australia — Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka has withdrawn injured from her third-round match at the Australian Open, hours before it was scheduled to begin.
Osaka, a two-time champion at Melbourne Park, didn’t detail the extent of her injuries, but revealed they were sustained during her heated second-round win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
The 28-year-old headed to the locker room briefly during that match and then took a medical timeout when leading 2-1 in the deciding set.
“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 on 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.”
Osaka was scheduled to face Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis at Rod Laver Arena following 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic‘s match against Botic Van De Zandschulp.
