Naomi Osaka ends 2024 season after discovering ‘bulged disc’
Naomi Osaka has called an end to her 2024 season, after withdrawing from the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo and the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup Finals following an MRI scan.
Osaka last competed at the China Open in Beijing, retiring from her fourth round match against eventual champion Coco Gauff after being a set and a break up.
After the match, the former World No.1 revealed that her back had locked up and suggested that it was not a serious concern.
However, since then Osaka has withdrawn from the WTA events in Tokyo and Hong Kong and the 27-year-old has now confirmed that she will also no longer be part of Japan’s BJK Cup Finals team in Malaga next month.
Despite not competing in Tokyo, Osaka is still currently in the Japanese capital and spoke to press about what the MRI scans have shown is wrong with her back.
“I’ve played so many tournaments this year, so it was definitely the toughest decision to not play this [Tokyo] and obviously not play BJK,” said Osaka. “I really honestly enjoyed it so much, and I think it helped with my development as a player.”
The four-time major winner continued, “I thought I strained my back, but I did an MRI in Beijing, and they said that I bulged a disc in my back and I also ruptured abdominal muscles. I was practising in Los Angeles in order to play here, but then I took another MRI and it said that I still have tears.”
The HKCTA is disappointed to announce that Naomi Osaka has been forced to withdraw from competing at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2024 due to injury, in an unfortunate end to her tennis season in 2024.
However, Naomi has confirmed she will still be attending the… pic.twitter.com/twctM9BJVS
— HongKong Tennis Open (@HKTennisOpen) October 21, 2024
Osaka returned to the WTA Tour at the start of this season after giving birth to her first child, Shai, and has played her most matches (38) in a season since 2019.
During this time, Osaka has enjoyed varying success with best results of reaching the quarter-finals in Doha and Hertogenbosch, enabling her to go from being unranked to World No.56.
Inside the baseline…
This is probably very frustrating for Naomi Osaka, who has only been able to play one tournament since joining forces with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. It is also very disappointing for the Japanese BJK Cup team, who are now at a major disadvantage without Osaka. However, overall it has got to be a very encouraging year for Osaka, who has been more committed than she has for a long time and can now use this time away to heal both physically and mentally ahead of the 2025 season.
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