Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open, citing an injury, hours before she was due to play in the third round.
The two-time former champion had been due to face Australian Maddison Inglis in the night session on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday but announced shortly before the contest that she would not be able to take to the court.
‘I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match,’ Osaka wrote.
Osaka has a history of abdominal problems and retired during her third-round match at Melbourne Park last year against Belinda Bencic after a set.
She added: ‘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.
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open, hours before her third-round match
‘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.’
The Japanese star would have been fancied for a strong run after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open, and it brings to an end an eventful week for Osaka.
She provided one of the moments of the tournament when she came out for her first-round match against Antonia Ruzic dressed in an extravagant jellyfish-inspired outfit, while the 28-year-old was then involved in a row about respect with second-round opponent Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian took exception to Osaka’s shouts of ‘come on’.
Elsewhere, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula’s podcast will have extra spice after they set up a fourth-round clash.
Keys and Pegula launched The Player’s Box last year along with fellow American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk to shed light on life behind the scenes on tour.
And listeners will now get a close-up view of how friendship and rivalry collide, with defending champion Keys saying after a 6-3 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova: ‘I think we have to film a podcast before we play the match, so we’ll see how that goes.’
