Naomi Osaka's 'sad' withdrawal in worrying Australian Open sign
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her WTA event in Melbourne for some rest in a bid to be fit for the Australian Open.
Top-seeded Naomi Osaka pulled out of her Melbourne Summer Set 1 WTA event semi-final against Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday, citing the intensity of recent games as cause for her withdrawal.
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Osaka took to Twitter and said the back-to-back matches had taken a toll on her body after a layoff.
"Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took," she wrote.
"Thank you for all the love this past week. I'll try to rest up and I'll see you soon."
Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took. Thank you for all the love this past week ❤️ I’ll try to rest up and I’ll see you soon!
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) January 8, 2022
Despite the disappointment, it was noted this isn't unusual for Osaka before a grand slam.
She withdrew from her two warm-up events before last two grand slam wins.
Naomi Osaka pulls out of her semifinal vs. Kudermetova later today (abdominal injury).
Maybe not so bad news: she did the same in the two warm-up events before her last two Slam wins (US Open 2020 and AusOpen 2021)— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 8, 2022
Withdrawal hurts Naomi Osaka's seeding at Aus Open
Unfortunately, Elena Ryabakina won her match in Adelaide and therefore leapt Osaka in the rankings.
This means Osaka will draw a Top 4 seed, including possibly Ash Barty, in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open if she is to reach that stage.
This withdrawal means that Noami Osaka will be the 13th at the #AusOpen if Rybakina wins today (she is up a set in Adelaide).
She will draw one of the top 4 seeds in R16 in that scenario: Barty, Sabalenka, Muguruza or Krejčíková https://t.co/gIruJlMxCN— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 8, 2022
Four-times grand slam champion Osaka beat German Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-5 in the quarter-final on Friday, less than two weeks out from the start of the Australian Open.
with Reuters
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