Naomi Osaka advanced to the next round in Tokyo after her opponent Daria Saville suffered a horrific knee injury.
In the second game of the match, the Australian was spotted tumbling to the court while screaming in agony and clutching her knee. When Osaka noticed what was going on with she hurried to help her. The umpire joined her and soon after, the physiotherapist showed up, but it was clear that she couldn't play and Saville retired.
"I thought that she was just yelling because she thought her forehand was out, then I realised that she was yelling because she was in pain" said a distressed Osaka after the match adding:
“Then I got really scared because I felt like as athletes we have a pretty high pain tolerance. It seemed really bad.”
Despite getting a much needed 'win' Osaka had mixed feelings afterwards:
“Right now, it still feels a bit weird that I just won a match — I feel like I didn’t win a match,” said the 4x grand slam champion adding: “I guess that I did and I’m progressing through the tournament. I’m not really thinking too much about the final right now.”
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