Cincinnati Open 2020: Victoria Azarenka wins as Naomi Osaka Withdraws


Cincinnati Open 2020: Victoria Azarenka wins as Naomi Osaka Withdraws

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On Saturday, the Cincinnati Open 2020 favourite Naomi Osaka decided to withdraw from the finals of the tournament. Therefore, it is now declared that Victoria Azarenka as the default winner.

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Announcement on Official Twitter handle

At 18:30 IST, the official twitter handle of Western and Southern Open ‘@Cincytennis’ posted the order of play. The women’s final was scheduled for 20:30 IST at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The Wild Card Naomi Osaka was only a step away from the title.


It was only a matter of minutes that the twitter handle received another disappointing update. The tweet read “Naomi Osaka has withdrawn” the reason is an injury in the left hamstring.

The player had earlier opted out of the Semi-Finals in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. However, when the Tennis Federation consisting of WTA and ATP decided to halt a play to support the movement, Osaka played her semi-final and went ahead to defeat Elise Mertens.

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Victoria Azarenka won the Cincinnati Open in 2013, seven years later, she will be crowned with the championship title again. Naomi has apologies following the withdrawal. She further spoke on the injury and the “emotional week” she had.

Naomi Osaka is in the main draw for the the upcoming US Open. She is scheduled play against fellow compatriot Misaki Doi, however in these circumstance it will be tough to make a call about her participation at the slam.