Injury forces tearful Naomi Osaka to withdraw as Tauson wins ASB Classic

By SABC Sport
5th January 2025

Naomi Osaka's first WTA final in nearly three years ended in tears due to injury as Clara Tauson went on to win an emotional rollercoaster of a final at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

Former World No 1 Osaka defeated Alycia Parks in straight sets in the semi-finals to reach her first title match since April 2022 with Tauson awaiting in the grand finale.

And she made a blistering start as she raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set on the back of two consecutive breaks of serve before Tauson staged a mini fightback.

Osaka, though, wrapped up the opening set 6-4 and immediately took a medical timeout for treatment on her lower abdomen.

The four-time Grand Slam winner was emotional while speaking to the trainer and then got up from her chair and walked over to her opponent to confirm her retirement from the match.

After shaking hands with the chair umpire, Osaka was seen wiping away tears and there are now major concerns over her fitness with the start of the Australian Open just a week away.

She is a two-time champion at Melbourne Park with titles in 2019 and 2021 while last year she lost in the first round as she was still nursing her way back following maternity leave.

The 27-year-old wasn't schedule to play any events in the week before the season-opening Grand Slam and she didn't give too much away about the injury during the post-match trophy presentation ceremony.

"I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city and I had a lot of fun playing here and I'm really sorry about how it ended," she stated.

"I hope you did enjoy the tennis that we did play and I'm just really grateful to be here."

Osaka is set to return to the top 50 of the WTA Rankings on Monday as she is expected to rise eight spots while Tauson will move up nine places to No 41.