An undated photo of Japan’s Naomi Osaka. — AFP
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the first WTA 1000 tournament of the year in Doha next week.
The Japanese tennis star also pulled out of the third-round clash against Maddison Inglis at the Australian Open.
Osaka was slammed by Sorana Cirstea in their second-round match at Melbourne Park for screaming between the serves of the Romanian, for which Naomi apologised. Many said that the Japanese withdrew from the Australian Open because of the criticism she received after that match, as it was severe.
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka defeated veteran Cirstea by 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, who was playing her final season on tour at Margaret Court Arena.
A left abdominal injury was cited as the reason for the withdrawal of Osaka. Now, the world No. 14 has also confirmed herself out of next week’s Qatar Open in Doha.
Previously, the Japanese player has played twice tournament in the Qatar Open, making it to the second round in her debut in 2018 and reaching the round-of-16 in 2024.
After she withdrew from the Australian Open, Osaka said it was a familiar injury that resurfaced and added that she needed to do some checks.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s an injury I’ve had a couple of times before, and I thought I could push through it. I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse, so yeah,” Osaka explained.
“Yeah, I mean, I definitely have to do more tests, and obviously I think coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. So this is something I have to be really cautious of. Yeah, I just have to, I guess, talk with a couple of doctors.”
AloJapan.com