TORONTO (SID) – Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has suffered a setback just weeks before the US Open. At the WTA Masters in Toronto, the Japanese gave up on Tuesday (local time) in her first round match against Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) with a score of 6: 7 (4: 7), 0: 3. The reason was lower back pain.
“I felt my back from the start of the match and although I tried to push through, I just wasn’t able to do it today,” said Osaka, fighting back tears. The US Open, which Osaka won in 2018 and 2020, begins in New York on August 29.
The 24-year-old only returned from the tournament in San Jose/California after a two-month injury break. Before that, Osaka had not played a game since her first-round exit at the French Open due to pain in her left Achilles tendon.
