TOKYO – Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Japan Open on Friday due to a leg injury, while Emma Raducanu ended her season early, pulling out of events in Tokyo and Hong Kong over fitness issues. Jannik Sinner is also doubtful for the Davis Cup Finals, where Italy looks to defend its title.
“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that Naomi Osaka has not recovered from a left leg injury sustained during the second round of this tournament and has withdrawn from the quarterfinals scheduled for today,” the tournament said on X according to AFP.
Raducanu, who retired from her match against Ann Li in Wuhan last week, was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 by China’s Zhu Lin in her Ningbo opener Tuesday after receiving treatment for a back issue.
“I haven’t decided yet, I don’t know,” Italian broadcaster Sky Sport reported Sinner as saying while at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh.
Italian Sinner was forced to retire from the Shanghai Masters in the third-round last week due to cramp in his right thigh.
“We’ll try to work out why I had cramp, sometimes you just don’t know why. Sometimes things can happen but I’m okay, that’s the important thing,” Sinner added according to AFP.
Sinner will face Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the exhibition event in Saudi Arabia where the winner will claim $6 million.
Thanks to Sinner, the world No 2 of men’s tennis, Italy won its first Davis Cup since 1976 two years ago and then retained the trophy in 2024.
The final eight of the 2025 Davis Cup will be held in Bologna over 18-23 November.
Raducanu was beaten 3-6 6-4 6-1 by China’s Zhu Lin in her Ningbo opener after receiving treatment for a back issue, a week after the 22-year-old retired from her meeting with Ann Li while trailing 6-1 4-1 in Wuhan.
The Briton had looked to carry her encouraging showing at the US Open into the ongoing Asian swing.
She enjoyed her best run at Flushing Meadows in late August since winning the title in 2021, securing two dominant victories before falling to ninth seed Elena Rybakina.
The world number 29 will now hope that she has done enough to be seeded for the Australian Open next year, Reuters reported.
British media reported that she will continue working with Spanish coach Francisco Roig heading into next season following a string of changes to her team in recent seasons.
Raducanu has struggled with form and fitness issues since her only Grand Slam triumph as a teenager but rediscovered her competitive spirit during her run to the Miami Open quarterfinals earlier this year.
She won 28 matches this year, notably reaching the semifinals in Washington in July.
Elsewhere, World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz has defended his decision to play in the lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia after previously saying he would consider skipping ATP Tour events to prioritise his health due to a crowded schedule.
Naomi Osaka battled through injury to reach the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, choking back tears after hitting the winning shot against defending champion Suzan Lamens.
Top seed Osaka, playing a singles tournament in her native Japan for the first time in three years, won 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-2 to set up a last-eight match against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
The former world No 1 was leading 5-0 in the final set in the city of Osaka when she needed a medical timeout to receive treatment on her left leg.
She returned with heavy strapping on her thigh and lost the next two games before closing out the match in 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka hit a backhand winner and then bent over and put her hand to her face before walking to the net appearing to fight back tears.
“It was definitely really difficult. I’m kind of sorry about my attitude,” Osaka said in an on-court interview that had to be cut short due to her injury.
The 27-year-old is playing in her first tournament since reaching the US Open semifinals, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova of the United States.
Osaka had not progressed to the second week of a major since winning the Australian Open for a second time in 2021.
Osaka, now ranked 16 in the world, returned to the courts in early 2024 after giving birth to a daughter.
She failed to get past the second round of any Grand Slam last year and lost in the first round of the French Open in May.
AloJapan.com