Naomi Osaka suffers an abdominal injury during the preparation for the Australian Open | Tennis news

The four-time Grand Slam champion has withdrawn from her first WTA final in three years after winning the first set at the Auckland Open.

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Auckland Classic final with an abdominal injury, a blow for the Japanese star just a week before the start of the Australian Open.

In her first WTA final in three years, against Danish Clara Tosson, the four-time Grand Slam champion called for physical therapy after winning the first set 6-4 and withdrew shortly thereafter on Sunday.

Osaka’s sudden withdrawal from the preparatory tournament for the Australian Open came as a shock after she played without apparent problems in the first set, which lasted 35 minutes, and launched some powerful groundstrokes to break her opponent’s serve in the third and fifth games.

At the substitution, the 27-year-old stood and did a series of stretching exercises during the medical break.

After consulting with the coach, I shook hands with Towson, who won his third professional title and his first since 2021.

Osaka did not reveal the details of what forced her to withdraw during a short courtside interview.

But the Women’s Tennis Association said in a statement that the player had retired “due to an abdominal injury.”

“I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me to this beautiful city and I had a lot of fun playing here and I’m really sorry about the way it ended,” Osaka said.

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

The weekend was unsuccessful for Osaka, who was seeking her first title in four years since winning the 2021 Australian Open.

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

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

Osaka arrived in Auckland declaring her “deep love” for tennis had returned and expressed confidence she could have a strong season at the first Grand Slam of the year, which begins in Melbourne on January 12.