Naomi Osaka drops out of pre-Australian Open exhibition match against Emma Raducanu

After her elimination from the Brisbane International in the second round, Osaka spent a day exploring Brisbane.

Naomi Osaka drops out of pre-Australian Open exhibition match against Emma Raducanu

Naomi Osaka (L), Emma Raducanu (R) (Sources: Imago/X)

Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka were supposed to face each other in an exhibition charity match ahead of the 2024 Australian Open. Both players recently made their comebacks to the court and had similar fates.

Osaka made her comeback in the Brisbane International, while Raducanu played in the ASB Classic. Both of them won their first-round matches before suffering defeat in the second round. 

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Unfortunately, Osaka has now decided to pull out of the exhibition match for an unknown reason and Emma Raducanu will now face Donna Vekic. The Japanese probably wants to devote her full focus to playing in the Australian Open and does not want to take any risks ahead of it. However, the real reason for her withdrawal has not been revealed. 

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Naomi Osaka seemed to be a changed player in the two matches that she played in the Brisbane International. After her matches, she attended the crowd, waved at them and even let them click selfies. She revealed that motherhood has changed her nature, and she now understands that she owes it to her fans, as they cheer for the players unconditionally and she must return the love. 

I feel like the last couple years I played before I had my daughter I didn’t return as much love as I was given. That’s what I want to do on this chapter. I just really appreciate people coming out & people knowing me and cheering for me. There was a time I was a little kid just trying to watch my role models play.
Osaka after winning her first-round victory in the Brisbane International. 

Naomi Osaka has started her preparations for the Australian Open 

Osaka has a pretty good record at the Australian Open. She has won the Grand Slam twice – 2019 and 2021. However, the Japanese have been unable to feature in the tournament for the last two seasons.

Now that she has finally made her comeback after a year-long break due to her pregnancy, the Japanese ace will look to continue her dominating run in the tournament. After her elimination from the Brisbane International in the second round, Osaka spent a day exploring Brisbane.

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka (Via Imago)

She went to the Queensland Art Gallery before finally traveling to Melbourne. Osaka took the Rod Laver Arena for her first practice and even posted a story of the same on Instagram. 

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