Naomi Osaka shares shock injury; Will it ruin her previous big plans for an Asian swing?

Naomi Osaka shed some light on a retirement that left many stunned when the Japanese revealed her back was “locked up” during pre-match training, but she wouldn’t simply withdraw from the Coco Gauff match.

On Tuesday, the former world number 1 made a great start to her round of 16 match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, winning the opener 6-3. After also breaking No. 4 in the seventh game of the second set to move up a set and a break, the 26-year-old seemed destined for her biggest victory since making a comeback from pregnancy.

But then, out of nowhere, Osaka started making unnecessary mistakes – and after essentially not showing up in the next three matches and Gauff winning the second set 6-4 – the Asian home favorite withdrew from the match. The retirement surprised even her American opponent, who immediately approached her to ask what was going on.

“Hello everyone, I just wanted to say that I am extremely grateful and happy to have played in Beijing. That said, I feel like I owe a little backstory about today. So I closed my back during training earlier on and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play, but I just wanted to try, unfortunately it got worse and worse during the match. Totally worth it, lol,” the 2019 Beijing champion wrote on Threads.

Will this injury hinder Osaka’s big plans for this part of the year?

After beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2 in her first match at the China Open, the former world number 1 admitted she hoped to quickly end her title drought and win for the first time since the Australian Open to receive a trophy in 2021. She then also progressed beyond her next two matches and it was certainly starting to look like this could be a huge week for the 26-year-old.

“I’m happy to be able to play on this field again. And I hope to lift another trophy soon,” Osaka said after beating Bronzetti.

For the Japanese, this was her first appearance in the Chinese capital since winning Beijing in 2019. And since she is basically at home wherever she plays in Asia, because she enjoys enormous popularity there, the current number 73 in the world emphasized that she would like that. finish her year strong and become a seed at the Australian Open.

“I think the Asian swing is full of possibilities for me. I have always done very well at the end of the year. I always look forward to it. Especially with the two tournaments in Japan, it is a good time for me to count deep and really try to get good results… My goal now, I think I would be posted in Australia. I would really like to avoid that. Caroline Garcia (smiling). I’m putting too much pressure on myself, I’m trying just taking it day by day,” Osaka said.

But now that she is dealing with a back injury, the question is whether she can play the Wuhan Open next week – and if so – whether she will be fully fit in the future.

What Gauff said about Osaka’s retirement?

After the match, the American tennis star admitted that she noticed something was wrong when the Japanese was serving.

“I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, all I knew was that she could barely jump on her serve towards the end, so I knew it was something that was probably bad at the time, but hopefully it’s something that wasn’t something for the long term,” Gauff said.

Moments after the match ended, the 20-year-old approached the 2019 champion and offered kind words.

“Towards the end of the second set I could really see that it was really hindering her movement. Even if you saw that last point, I was trying to keep the ball in because I knew what was going on. But I didn’t. I expect her to retire at that point, honestly. I just told her to be proud of herself. It’s not easy. I think this is the first time she wins three matches in a tournament. So physically you can do all the running you want, but match fitness is different. Hopefully she’s doing well, I think she’s signed up for Wuhan,” the American said.

Meanwhile, Gauff now has a 3-2 head-to-head record against Osaka.

If the Japanese is allowed to play at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan, it will be her second appearance there and the first since 2017.

Previously, Osaka suffered a first-round defeat to Elise Mertens in her Wuhan debut in 2017.