Two-time champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open ahead of her match with qualifier Maddison Inglis, citing an injury.
The Japanese star, who defeated Antonia Ruzic before fending off Sorana Cirstea to reach the third round in Melbourne said she couldn’t “risk any further damage” ahead of her clash with Australian Inglis on Rod Laver Arena.
On an Instagram story, Osaka, who lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2019 and 2021, said she was withdrawing to “address something my body needs attention for after the last match”.
“I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match,” she wrote.
“I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court.
“Thanks for all the love and support… I’m so grateful everyone embraced me so much. And thank you to my whole team for always having my back and the tournament organisers.”
Osaka’s withdrawal means Inglis will go through to the fourth round for the first time via a walkover.
Osaka stepped out on Rod Laver Arena ahead of her first-round match wearing a flowing, jellyfish‑inspired green and white outfit, accompanied by a hat, veil and parasol
Osaka’s grand entrance to the tournament earlier this week went viral, when she walked onto the court for her first-round match wearing a wide-brim hat, a veil and holding a white parasol – a design she said her clothing sponsor, Nike, let her create.
In the second round, Osaka defeated Cirstea in a tense win at Margaret Court Arena that ended acrimoniously.
The pair barely exchanged a handshake over the net, with Cirstea glancing in Osaka’s direction briefly and then turning her head away. As they walked toward the umpire’s chair, Osaka asked, “What was that for?”
Cirstea responded directly to her opponent, upset with Osaka’s efforts to pump herself up at stages during the match.
“Apparently a lot of ‘come ons’ that she was angry about,” Osaka said, “but whatever. I think this was her last Australian Open so, OK, sorry she was mad about it.”
Speaking on TNT Sports, six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Tim Henman said: “It’s a big surprise. You felt like she was trying to play herself into form. She was in Australia for a long time, having played at the United Cup. We saw her on the practice courts. She was going through all the shots. See her in the gym, working on her core, but it’s not to be.”
Podcasters Keys, Pegula plan trash talk segment before showdown
Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula are good friends away from the tour and produce a tennis podcast together with American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk
Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula’s podcast will have extra spice after they set up a fourth-round clash.
Keys and Pegula launched The Player’s Box last year along with fellow American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk to shed light on life behind the scenes on tour.
And listeners will now get a close-up view of how friendship and rivalry collide, with defending champion Keys saying after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova: “I think we have to film a podcast before we play the match, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Keys revealed in her press conference that they have already discussed forfeits for the loser of Monday’s clash.
“She said she wants to have, whoever loses, the other person can come up with something,” added the 30-year-old.
“She wants to make me eat her disgusting apple pie with cheese on top of it if I lose, which I said I refuse, so she’s going to have to think of something else.
“We’re both going to try to think of something to kind of commemorate this moment. Hopefully we have more times where we meet later in tournaments.
“We can see how this one goes and then hopefully be able to capitalise on it and then see how we want to do it in the future, as well.”
They have played three times before, including in the fourth round of the US Open in 2023, and Keys has no concerns that the contest will affect their friendship.
“We’ve been doing it for so long,” she said. “We could literally be friends and laughing until the moment we walk on the court. Then in that moment we both want to win and we both are competitors. We’re going to do whatever we can to get the W.
“The moment it’s over, you’re back to being friends. I think that’s one of those things that I actually really love about tennis, because it’s taught a lot of us how to manage our friendships and relationships and be able to genuinely love each other and are close and all of that, but also still be really competitive.”
Keys revealed she and Pegula were due to a produce a podcast before their match. The friendship will be put aside when they meet in a couple of days!
Sixth seed Pegula continued her stroll through the draw with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Oksana Selekhmeteva while fourth seed Amanda Anisimova became the fifth American woman through to the last 16, beating countrywoman Peyton Stearns 6-1, 6-4.
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