Naomi Osaka’s tennis career has come to a halt — again — after the Japanese star suffered an injury midway through her match against Coco Gauff at the China Open. This is another blow to the 26-year-old player, who has missed a considerable amount of game time due to various reasons over the past few years.
In Beijing, Gauff and Osaka met for the first time in two years at the round-of-16 clash, piquing the audience’s excitement. The two were level at one set each when Osaka retired due to a back injury.
Some might have seen it coming after the Japanese star had received medical help midway through the match. Despite her best efforts to continue playing, Osaka was eventually forced to retire.
Even though Gauff was fortunate to reach the quarterfinal in this manner, she won the hearts of tennis fans when she went up to the 2020 US Open Champion and offered to carry her kit bag as she left the court. Gauff also wished Osaka a speedy recovery.
“It was a good match up until this point. I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. No one wants to win a match like this, especially one-set all.”
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However, this latest injury is a huge blow for the Japanese star, who had to deal with a lot in recent years.
For the first time, Osaka disclosed her mental health struggles during the 2021 French Open. The Japanese star revealed that she has been having ‘long bouts of depression’ ever since the 2018 US Open victory. Following that announcement, she took occasional breaks from the sport due to various reasons.
Osaka suffered an ankle and back injury in 2022, which kept her out of several important ATP events. This was followed by her pregnancy announcement at the start of the 2023 season, keeping her out of tennis action for the entire year.
After returning to the tour this year at the Brisbane International, she has been trying hard to reclaim her past rankings. From 2018 to 2021, she dominated women’s tennis and won a grand slam title in every one of those years.
However, Osaka’s route back to her former glory has become even more difficult with this fresh setback, as it is unclear how long she will be out of action.
