By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 29, 2020
Naomi Osaka withdrew from today's Western & Southern Open final due to a left hamstring injury that jeopardizes her status for the US Open, starting on Monday.
Photo credit: @Cincy Tennis Western & Southern Open
Naomi Osaka used her voice to inspire tennis to press pause.
Now, a left hamstring injury has stopped Osaka's Western & Southern Open run—and puts her US Open hopes in serious jeopardy.
Osaka: I Just Wanted To Create Awareness
The fourth-seeded Osaka withdrew from today's 11 a.m. W&S Open final vs. Victoria Azarenka due to the left hamstring injury she aggravated in her 6-2, 7-6(5) semifinal win over Elise Mertens yesterday.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka is scheduled to face Japanese compatriot Misaki Doi in her US Open opener.
Asked if she feels she'll be fit in time for the Open, Osaka was uncertain.
"You know, I never know with that," Osaka said. "But I just hope I'm giving myself, you know, the opportunity and the chance to have enough time, because I feel like I would know the answer to your question after I played my US Open match."
The 59th-ranked Azarenka collected her 21st career title—and first since 2016—and made history as the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history.
It is Azarenka's second W&S title following her 2013 championship and her 20th career hard-court crown, which is third-most among active women behind only Serena Williams (47) and Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters (31 apiece). Accepting her trophy, Azarenka wished Osaka well and a "miracle" recovery knowing how hamstring issues can often require lengthy time to heal.
The 2018 US Open champion is the oddsmakers favorite to capture her third Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows, but now Osaka's participation may well be in doubt.
Osaka made a stand Wednesday night announcing she would skip the scheduled Thursday semifinals in a show of support for racial justice. The game's governing bodies united behind Osaka and subsequently rescheduled the semifinals for Thursday.
The former world No. 1 candidly conceded she's stressed about her status for the US Open and is resigned to doing the best she can.
"Yeah, honestly I'm a bit stressed, but at the same time I feel like I have to keep forcing into my brain that I made the choice to come here, so I shouldn't be stressed about it and I should just be happy to be playing in the first place," Osaka said. "So that's kind of what I have been trying to think.
"Of course I never want to lose in the first round, and I don't even want to have that thought in my head, but I know that's a possibility. So I'm just going to think about, like, doing the best that I can."
The 22-year-old Osaka said she initially felt hamstring tightness during her first-round match and exacerbated the injury during a lengthy service hold vs. Mertens.
Osaka fought off 18 of 21 break-points in the semifinal and was clutching at the back of her left leg in the latter stages of the match.
"I felt my hamstring after my first match," Osaka said. "Normally it's because, you know, it's kind of tired and I get it because I haven't played a match in, like, six, seven months. So for me that was normal.
"In the last match that I played I felt it more during the super long service game I had in the second set.
"Then it just slowly started getting worse and worse. Then during the tiebreak I felt it again, like, a stronger pain. So, yeah, I would say there were definitely key moments where it just started getting worse."