Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, has reportedly withdrawn from the upcoming WTA 250 event in Osaka, Japan, due to her back injury, which even caused her to retire from the China Open in Beijing.
The Japan Open tournament will be held at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan, from 14 to 20 October 2024.
Just a week prior, on Monday, October 7, 2024, the tournament announced on the Japan Open’s official website that Naomi Osaka would not be attending the upcoming Event.
Their statement read, “We would like to inform you that Naomi Osaka (Japan/Freelance), who was scheduled to participate in the women’s tournament of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships 2024, will be unable to participate due to injury.”
The former world no. 1 had suffered a back injury during her campaign at the China Open in Beijing. Although she was doing great, she recorded three wins at the China Open in Beijing last week, after the last-16 match against eventual champion Coco Gauff Osaka retired.
After their retirement amid the match, Naomi Osaka took to her Instagram story, which is now expired, to announce her progressively worse injury that caused her to retire.
In the statement, she said, “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.”
Further, she has yet to share her decision regarding her participation in the upcoming Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, which will start from Japan from 21 to 27 October 2024.
Naomi Osaka had previously stepped down from various tournaments due to injuries!
It is not the first time that Naomi Osaka, the world’s greatest tennis player, has withdrawn from big tournaments due to injuries caused by excessive tennis practice.
In 2022, two Australian Open and two US Open titles-winning tennis players withdrew from several tournaments, including the Italian Open and the German Open, after suffering from Achilles injuries.
Naomi Osaka at 22 years, two #USOpen titles.
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) September 12, 2020
2018 🤝 2020 pic.twitter.com/8H1vfufQvq
Her Achilles injuries started before her competition in the French Open tournament, after which many people started judging her ability to compete in major events. Therefore, Naomi Osaka decided to compete in the French Open despite the pain, but it only worsened her injury.
Similarly, her back injury started in 2020 when she struggled with her lower back. It forced her to withdraw from the Canadian Open in August 2022.
BREAKING: Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 31, 2021
She was fined for not going to press conferences for mental health reasons: "I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media." pic.twitter.com/o094ZrP5w2
According to the reports, lower back pain is very common among tennis players due to the player’s strain from serving, bending, and sudden changes in direction.
Osaka appeared to be receiving treatment in court, which showed how much her recent injuries affected her professional career.
She missed various tournaments due to her health and personal problems, which are affecting her rankings and her ability to compete consistently in major tournaments.
In Case You Did Not Know
- Born October 16, 1997, in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan, Naomi Osaka currently resides in Beverly Hills, California, United States, with her husband, Cordae Amari Brooks, and a daughter, Shai.
- Apart from physical injury, Naomi Osaka also suffered from mental health issues in early 2021, when she withdrew from the French Open due to her anxiety.
- In 2023, Naomi Osaka announced her pregnancy while confirming she was taking some time off from tennis to spend more time with her family. She welcomed her first child, daughter Shai, with rapper Cordae in July 2023.
