“My body got a shock from playing” Naomi Osaka withdraws before semis of the event in Melbourne
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Naomi Osaka
World No. 13 Naomi Osaka returned to tennis action for the first time in nearly 100 days having last played a competitive match at the 2021 US Open where she lost in the 3rd round. After a troubled season in 2021, she looked for a better season in 2022 and started her season at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1.
Seeded 1st, Naomi won her first-round match in 3-sets against Alize Cornet. In the subsequent rounds, Naomi looked much better as she defeated Maryna Zanevska in just 58 minutes and followed it up with another straight-set victory against Andrea Petkovic in the quarter-finals to move into the semi-finals for the first time since she won the 2021 Australian Open.
However, before she could take the court for her semi-final match against Veronika Kudermetova, she had to withdraw from the match citing injury reasons. “I had a lot of fun playing here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, I have an abdominal injury which I need to rest and prepare for the Australian Open,” said Osaka in a statement released by Tennis Australia.
“Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took. Thank you for all the love this past week. I’ll try to rest up and I’ll see you soon!” tweeted Naomi announcing her withdrawal from the Melbourne event.
Naomi Osaka yet to confirm her next tournament
The Japanese player is yet to confirm what will be the next event she will play. With the 2022 Australian Open set to begin from 17th January, another week of Tour action is scheduled for further practice for the players. Two more events are scheduled from the 10th of January before the Grand Slam begins.
A WTA-250 event in Adelaide will simultaneously begin with a WTA-500 event in Sydney with the finals of the events scheduled to be played on 15th January. Given the decision of Naomi to choose a 250- event instead of the WTA-500 Adelaide International, chances are Naomi might travel to Adelaide instead of Sydney.
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Sarthak Shitole
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