Naomi Osaka had a dismal run at the 2026 Australian Open. She withdrew a day before her third-round match against Maddison Inglis on January 24 due to an injury. The Japanese star has been aiming for consistency on court since a valiant run at last year’s US Open, where she reached the semifinals.
With the Middle East swing now underway, Osaka is gearing up for her first WTA 1000 event of the year at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, beginning February 15. The former World No. 1 will skip the earlier WTA 1000 event in Doha, Qatar, which begins on February 8, to focus on her health and complete her rehab in time for the Dubai Open.
While most of the top players will be in Doha next week, some have withdrawn from the event. Besides Osaka, the list of withdrawn players includes Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Iva Jovic, and Marta Kostyuk.
All these top names that will not be featuring in the Qatar Open have been added to the starting list of the Dubai Open. It will be interesting to see how Osaka fares against the top seeds in Dubai and whether she can fully recover from her injury in time.
Naomi Osaka Cited ‘Changed Body’ Post-Pregnancy as the Reason for Injury at the Australian Open
During the announcement of her withdrawal from the Grand Slam, the two-time Australian Open champion revealed that she had experienced the same issue a couple of times earlier.
Osaka cited post-pregnancy abdominal issues as the cause of her injury flaring up, and despite trying her hardest to overcome them, the pain aggravated, resulting in her withdrawal.
“I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it. But I warmed up, and it got a lot worse,” she said, adding she still needed to see doctors. I definitely have to do more tests, and coming back from pregnancy, my body has changed quite a lot. This is something I have to be really cautious of,” Osaka said.
While the four-time Grand Slam winner recuperates from her injury, a final announcement of her participation will be made only by her camp after thorough analysis of her fitness levels. The World No. 14 earlier said she wanted to be more cautious moving forward and avoid aggravating any underlying health issues.
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