Naomi Osaka seems to be having an unfortunate and premature end to her first full season back on the tour after becoming a mother. She has already withdrawn from the Japan Open in Osaka next week.
Of course a big deal for her and one she is unlikely to withdraw from without any certainty about her current injury status after she had to retire in Beijing last week.
She has only just started working with Patrick Mouratoglou and reached the Last 16 in Beijing facing off against Coco Gauff and holding her own winning the first set.
But after losing the second, she was forced off court after struggling with a lower back problem and won't play between October 14 - 20, 2024. Her last scheduled tournament as of right now is the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She is scheduled to play that from October 21-27 in a field also including Jessica Pegula, Qinwen Zheng and Barbora Krejcikova.
But whether this is just to give herself another week off before she plays that is another matter. Not a good sign though for a player who has opted throughout her comeback for game time over time away from the court and especially with a new partnership, she will want to play as much as possible.
Especially on home soil where she last played in 2022 before she announced she was going to become a mum and now living in the US is a place she likely rarely visits nowadays.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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