Naomi Osaka is back to practicing after an unfortunate end to her Australian Open run as the four-time Grand Slam champion says she “can’t wait” to return to competitive action.
As you probably know, the Japanese made an outstanding start to the season – reached the Auckland final – but then she was struck by an abdominal injury that forced her to retire after winning the opening set of the final against Clara Tauson.
Still, the former world No. 1 managed to play at the Australian Open and even clinch very notable wins over Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova.
But then, Osaka’s abdomen troubles struck again and she wasn’t able to finish her third-round match against Belinda Bencic.
However, she appears to be doing much better and it probably won’t take too long before we see the 27-year-old back in action.
“Genuinely can’t wait to play a tournament again,” the Japanese tennis star wrote on Instagram.
Naomi Osaka Instagram Story© Naomi Osaka – Instagram
Osaka admitted she knew finishing against Bencic would be a tough ask
After retiring in Melbourne, the Japanese revealed to the press that her abdominal injury worsened after two demanding matches against Garcia and Muchova but wanted to at least give a try to the Bencic match.
“It was, I guess, a little inevitable, but I think the competitor in me just wanted to see it through to the end,” the two-time Australian Open winner said after the match.
“I just hope that I can figure it out and figure out how to get healthy in time for upcoming tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami in March.”
Also, Osaka revealed that abdominal issues have actually hampered her throughout her career.
“I kind of have a history of it, since I was a teenager. At least once a year, I’d get an ab strain. For me, I want to say it’s more the way my serve is — it’s quite explosive,” she said.
Tennis World USA