Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to a left abdominal injury, pulling out around an hour before her third-round match against Maddy Inglis
10:36, 24 Jan 2026Updated 06:41, 27 Jan 2026
Naomi Osaka has been forced to pull out of the Australian Open(Image: Getty)
Naomi Osaka has dramatically quit of the Australian Open. The announcement came roughly an hour before her scheduled third-round encounter with Maddy Inglis.
Television footage showed Osaka warming up beforehand, with no visible signs of difficulty.
Nevertheless, she subsequently confirmed her inability to compete against Inglis, who has now progressed to the fourth round. Osaka’s match was set to take place on Rod Laver Arena after Novak Djokovic’s clash with Botic van de Zandschulp concluded.
Her withdrawal resulted in a last-minute scheduling adjustment, with a doubles match replacing hers on the main court.
Through an Instagram story, Osaka revealed her tournament exit, explaining that she needed to address a physical issue that emerged following her win against Sorana Cirstea in the preceding round, reports the Express.
She wrote: “I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match.
“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 so I can get back on the court.
“Thanks for all the love and support… I’m so grateful everyone embraced me so much. And thank you to my whole team for always having my back and the tournament organisers for being so kind.”
It was later confirmed that Osaka had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury to her left abdomen.
The news comes after Osaka was publicly called out by Novak Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, for her conduct in her tense second round win over Sorana Cirstea. She questioned whether Osaka’s conduct between serves should have been penalised in a match that ended with a frosty exchange between the pair.
“Hm, I’m surprised that this is not being called hindrance,” Djokovic wrote.
“In between two serves, when crowds are applauding or shouting, the chair ump asks not to shout between serves as it is disturbing to the player.
“The point is not finished. Sorana missed her first serve and is focusing on getting in the second, it is a slight pause. And it is disrespectful to applaud at someone’s first serve mistake too.”
Djokovic also questioned the officiating, writing: “I am surprised that the chair / Naomi thought that was fair?! Were there any rule changes that I missed?!”
Osaka was cleared by the umpire during the match but later admitted she could have handled the situation better.
“I think the first couple things that I said on the court was disrespectful,” she said.
“I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do.”
It follows recent criticism of Osaka for her striking attire at the Australian Open, where her jellyfish-themed outfit caused quite a stir.
Osaka worked with fashion designer Robert Wun to create the eye-catching ensemble, inspired by a book about jellyfish she had read to her two year old daughter.
While many fans applauded Osaka’s daring fashion choice, she also faced harsh criticism from tennis player Jamie Murray and social media influencer Eliza Wastcoat.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Murray said: “It was like Mary Poppins on… I don’t know what she was on but she’s on something. For me, I was just like: ‘What are you doing?’.Wastcoat chimed in: “I would agree with Jamie that, for me, I felt like there was an element of disrespect towards the sport of tennis. “”Not walking onto the court with your racquets and creating such a show in front of your opponent in a first round, requesting a night match… the reason being to show off your outfit.
“”It just takes away from the show which is the tennis and what we’re all here to enjoy. I know she finds joy in fashion but for me, there’s such a rich history between tennis and fashion.
“”There’s so many other elements of it that we could have weaved into an outfit like this and paid respect to. “.
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