Staff Reporter.
Naomi Osaka has been forced to pull out of one of her home tournaments, the Japan Open in Osaka, after picking up a leg injury.
She was tearful after struggling through her last-16 match against defending champion Suzan Lamens in Osaka on Wednesday.
Top seed Osaka, who turned 28 this week, was supposed to face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian in the last eight.
“We regret to announce that Naomi Osaka has not recovered from a left leg injury sustained during the second round of this tournament and has withdrawn from the quarterfinals scheduled for today,” the tournament said on X.
It is not yet known whether Osaka will play in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo later this month.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is the latest high-profile player to suffer late-season injury issues.
AloJapan.com