"Worse than I thought" - Naomi Osaka shares concerning injury update, casts doubt on Pan Pacific Open participation
Naomi Osaka has shared a major update about her lower back injury with fans while revealing her plans for the upcoming competition. The Japanese had gotten injured in early October while competing at the China Open.
For Osaka, 2024 has been a year of lukewarm performances, with her best results being quarterfinal finishes at the Libema Open and Qatar TotalEnergies Open. However, the 26-year-old looked in good form in Beijing, setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round of 16 after victories over Yulia Putintseva and Katie Volynets.
In her clash against Gauff, the World No.56 stormed to a 6-3 win in the first set, before the American forced her into a decider. However, Naomi Osaka then withdrew from the match and later revealed that she'd been struggling with pain in her back.
"Hi everyone, just wanted to say I’m extremely thankful and happy to have played in Beijing. That being said I feel like I owe a little backstory about today- So I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try, unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match. Totally worth it though lol,” she wrote in a now-expired Instagram Story.
Since then, Osaka has withdrawn from the Japan Open, raising concern among fans. Now, in an ‘ask-me-anything' session on her Instagram, the American has revealed that her injury is worse than what she originally thought. In response to a fan asking for an injury/tournament update, she wrote,
“It was worse than what I thought (I just have a high pain tolerance lol) and I'm trying my best to potentially play Tokyo but I'm still waiting to see what the doctor says.”
Naomi Osaka jokes about her injury in hilarious Instagram post
Naomi Osaka was on an impressive run at the China Open before her injury forced her to withdraw. The Japanese was dominant in the first set of the match, but stumbled near the end of the second set, and then proceeded to pull out of the competition entirely.
Taking to Instagram a few days after the match, Osaka joked about the ordeal hilariously, leaving fans in splits. The 26-year-old shared two photos, the first showing her playing on the court, and the second was of her in a hospital dressing gown. She captioned the snaps,
“How the day started -> how it ended lol.”
Naomi Osaka is next scheduled to participate in the Pan Pacific Open, which will take place in Tokyo between October 21 and 27. However, with her latest injury update, fans are unsure if they will get to see the tennis star in action on home ground.