'I Could've Gone Far': Naomi Osaka Gutted After Brutal Australian Open Retirement
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Naomi Osaka admitted that having to retire from her match at the Australian Open was particularly devastating because she felt a run to the latter stages of the tournament was possible.
Doubts about Osaka's fitness existed before the Australian Open. Despite winning the opening set, she retired from the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland during the season's opening week due to an abdominal injury.
Osaka admitted before her first-round Australian Open match against Caroline Garcia that her MRI scan for the problem had not gone as well as she had hoped, raising questions about whether competing would be possible.
However, Osaka defeated Garcia in three sets, avenging a loss to the same player at last year's Australian Open. That was followed by an even more impressive 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 against Karolina Muchova.
Unfortunately, the abdominal injury resurfaced during Osaka's third-round match against Bencic. After an entertaining opening set that the Swiss won on a tiebreak, the former WTA world No. 1 retired.
In a press conference afterward, Osaka was asked whether there were any positives she could take from the tournament. She responded that the positives about her level were also negatives because they made her believe that a great run in Melbourne was possible.
"Yes, but I think the positives is also why I'm negative. I feel like if I could've served I could've potentially won and I could've gone far in the tournament."
The Japanese star also mentioned getting injured at the ASB Classic. Her abdominal injury preventing the chance of winning a title and a deep run at a Grand Slam is a challenging moment that Osaka might need some to recover from.
"It's kind of hard to just stay in the moment sometimes in regards to getting injured because obviously because I was in the final of Auckland too and it sucks because I could've maybe won that tournament and it could've been my first tournament win back(since returning from maternity leave)."
However, after a challenging 2024 season, Osaka can see her progress during the season's opening weeks. The four-time Grand Slam champion realizes her level was high against Bencic and says it was a fun match to be part of.
"I think I played really well today regardless of the fact I was injured. And it was really fun to play such a close battle and the points were fun while I was playing them. I just hope I can figure it out and figure out how to get healthy in time."
Taking a few weeks off from tennis should help Osaka. Her next mandatory tournament is not until the WTA 1000 event at the Qatar Open, which begins on February 10th. She might elect to skip all events taking place before then.
If Osaka can stay healthy, a great 2025 season for her might await. The 2018 and 2020 US Open champion has already made impressive progress with Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The ASB Classic and Australian Open were just their second and third tournaments together.
