Naomi Osaka retires against Kanepi down a set in Toronto

Naomi Osaka's Toronto stay was cut short by a physical issue that required multiple MTO's before the Japanese gave up.

Naomi Osaka had high hopes about Toronto yet it did not go well. She faced a red-hot Kanepi who played in the final last week but Osaka struggled with something. From the start, it looked like she was in some sort of discomfort and her plays suffered. She did not serve well and that gave Kanepi a lot of chances to break her. The Estonian did and Osaka took her first full MTO.

It was a lengthy one and it was a back issue, a big one as the Japanese player did not move well at all. Everything in her game suffered but her movement was particularly bad. Kanepi was holding her serve for the most part but eventually got broke as Osaka moved a bit better.

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She was able to force a tiebreaker but lost it and took another MTO. It was clear that Osaka was unable to keep up with Kanepi and the Estonian took another early break at which point Osaka decided it was enough. A huge setback for her after struggling with an injury earlier this year.