The four-time Grand Slam champion’s chances to compete at this year’s U.S. Open are now up in the air.
In just her third match since May’s French Open tournament, Naomi Osaka retired early with a lower back injury.
The former World No. 1 was down 7–6(4), 3–0 to Kaia Kanepi at the National Bank Open on Tuesday night. Kanepi will move on to the Round of 32 following Osaka’s withdrawal.
“I felt my back from the start of the match, and despite trying my best to push through it, I just wasn’t able to today,” Osaka told the media after the match. “I’d like to pay credit to Kaia for playing well and want to wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
The 24-year-old later tweeted, “Today is just really not a good day…”
The Japanese player has missed the majority of summer tennis play after dealing with an Achilles injury following her round one French Open loss. She missed Wimbledon and all of grass season while recovering. She made her 2022 return at last week’s Silicon Valley Classic, winning one match before losing to Coco Gauff in the Round of 16.
Now, Osaka’s chances of competing at the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 29, are up in the air with her latest injury. The two-time champion won in 2018 and ’20. She has not confirmed whether she is playing in the year’s final Grand Slam tournament.
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