January 08, (THEWILL) – An abdominal complaint has forced Naomi Osaka to withdraw from her semi-final at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 competition, with the Japanese citing the need to relax ahead of the Australian Open later this month.
The top-seeded Osaka was scheduled to play Veronika Kudermetova, but she withdrew because she wanted to rest her body after a strenuous week.
Osaka is the defending champion at the Australian Open which starts on January 17. She was competing for the first time since the U.S. Open after taking a mental health break.
As THEWILL reported last year, Osaka withdrew from the French Open after being penalised by the organisers for refusing to speak to the media following her matches at Roland Garros.
On her comeback to Melbourne, she had been playing increasingly well, defeating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets in the quarterfinals. In her first encounter in four months, she required three sets to beat Alize Cornet in the first round after making 57 unforced errors, including eight double faults.
In a statement released by Tennis Australia, Osaka said: “I had a lot of fun playing here in Melbourne. Unfortunately I have an abdominal injury which I need to rest and prepare for the Australian Open.”
At the semi-final event, third-seeded Kudermetova defeated Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2, and will meet former world number one Simona Halep in the final.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
