Two-time champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Australian Open ahead of her match against qualifier Madison Inglis due to an abdominal injury.
The Japanese star, who beat Antonia Ruzic and outran Sorana Cirstea to reach the third round in Melbourne, said she could not afford to “incur any more damage” ahead of her clash with Australia’s Ingris at Rod Laver Arena.
Osaka, who lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2019 and 2021, said on her Instagram Story that she was withdrawing to “address an issue with my body that required attention after my last match.”
Osaka arrived at Rod Laver Arena ahead of the first round wearing a flowing green and white jellyfish-inspired outfit, carrying a hat, veil and parasol.
Osaka has a history of abdominal problems and withdrew after a set in her third-round match against Belinda Bencic at Melbourne Park last year.
“After my last match, I had to make the difficult decision to withdraw in order to attend to a medical issue that requires attention,” she wrote.
“It breaks my heart to have to stop because I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, but I can’t risk more damage to get back on the court.
“Thank you for all the love and support… I’m so grateful that everyone has accepted me so much. And thank you to the whole team and tournament organizers for always supporting me.”
With Osaka’s withdrawal, Inglis will advance to the fourth round for the first time with a walkover.
Osaka’s grand entrance into the tournament earlier this week was the talk of the internet. She appeared on the court for the first round wearing a wide-brimmed hat, veil, and a white parasol. The design was commissioned by her clothing sponsor Nike.
In the second round, Osaka defeated Thurstair in a tense victory at Margaret Court Arena, but with a heartbreaking result.
Osaka (right) faced Sorana Cirstea after the second round in Melbourne
The two barely shook hands over the net, and Cirstea glanced in Osaka’s direction for a moment before turning away. As they walked toward the judges’ seats, Osaka asked, “What was that for?”
Cirstea was angered by Osaka’s efforts to rouse herself step by step during the match and responded directly to her opponent.
Osaka said, “Apparently she was angry about a lot of ‘coming out’.” “But whatever. I think this was her last Australian Open, so, well, it’s a shame she was upset about that.”
Tim Henman, a six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, told TNT Sports: “It’s a big surprise. I felt like she was trying to get herself in shape. She was in Australia for a long time after playing in the United Cup. We were watching her on the practice court. She was practicing all her shots. You want to see her in the gym working on her core, but that’s not the case.”
Podcasters Keys and Pegula plan trash talk segment before showdown
Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula remain good friends off the tour, producing a tennis podcast with American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.
Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula’s podcast will add more spice after they set up a four-round showdown.
Keys and Pegula launched The Player’s Box last year with fellow American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk to shed light on life behind the scenes on tour.
And listeners will now get to see up close how friendships and rivalries collide, with defending champion Keys saying after her 6-3, 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova: “I think we need to film a podcast before we do the fight, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Keys revealed in a press conference that they are already discussing a forfeit to the loser of Monday’s match.
“She said no matter who loses, she wants the other person to be able to come up with something,” the 30-year-old added.
“She said that if I lose, she’s going to feed me a bad apple pie with cheese on it and I’m going to refuse it, so she’s going to have to think of something else.
“We’re both going to try to think of something to commemorate this moment. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to meet more later in the tournament.”
“We can see how this time goes and take advantage of it and think about how we want to do it in the future.”
The two have faced off three times before, including in the fourth round of the 2023 U.S. Open, and Keys isn’t concerned that the match will affect their friendship.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said. “We’re literally friends and we laugh until the moment we step on the court. And in that moment, we both want to win and we’re both competitors. We’re going to do whatever we can to win the World Championship.”
“As soon as the match is over, you’re friends again. I think that’s one of the things I really love about tennis, because it teaches a lot of us how to manage friendships and relationships and how to truly love each other and be close and all of that, but still be really competitive.”
Keys revealed that she and Pegula were scheduled to produce a podcast before the game. If we meet in a few days, the friendship will be dissolved!
Sixth-seeded Pegula continued her strong run despite the draw with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Oksana Selekmeteva, while fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova became the fifth American woman to reach the round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over compatriot Peyton Stearns.
Second seed Iga Swiatek recovered from a second set drubbing to beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, but Nikola Bartunkova’s loss to Elise Mertens and Tereza Valentova’s loss to fifth seed Elena Rybakina spelled the end for the two teenagers.
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