Naomi Osaka injured her stomach while preparing for the Australian Open | Tennis News

The four-time Grand Slam champion is out of her first WTA final in three years after winning the first set of the Auckland Open.

Naomi Osaka has retired from the Auckland Classic final due to an abdominal injury, beating the Japanese star a week before the start of the Australian Open.

Playing in her first WTA final for three years, against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, the four-time Grand Slam champion called in the physio after taking the opening set 6-4 and pulled out soon after on Sunday.

Osaka’s sudden withdrawal from the Australian Open warm-up came as a surprise after she played without a problem in the first 35 minutes, unleashing powerful blows to break her opponent in the third and fifth games.

During the shift, the 27-year-old stood up and performed a series of steps during a medical break.

After conferring with the coach, he shook hands with Tauson, which captured its third title and first since 2021.

Osaka did not reveal the details of what prompted her to withdraw in a brief court hearing.

However, in a statement, the WTA said he retired “due to an abdominal injury”.

“I want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city and I had a lot of fun playing here and I’m very sorry for how it ended,” Osaka said.

“I hope you enjoyed the tennis we played and I’m very grateful to be here.”

It was the end of the week for Osaka, who was chasing her first title in four years since winning the 2021 Australian Open.

Her last appearance was at the Miami Open the following year, before taking a 15-month break and giving birth to her first child in mid-2023.

He returned to tennis 12 months ago and has risen to 57th in the world rankings.

Osaka arrived in Auckland saying her “deep love” for tennis had returned and expressed confidence that there could be a strong campaign at the first Grand Slam of the year, which starts in Melbourne on January 12.