Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from her opening match at the WTA Toronto Masters on Tuesday due to lower back pain. With the US Open rapidly approaching, this has raised injury concerns. Osaka, who was playing in her second match since sustaining a left Achilles injury, quit in the first set of the US Open warm-up competition while trailing Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 7-6(4), 3-0. “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,” said Osaka. “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.”
Osaka took a medical break when she was down 4-3 in the first set. After that, she seemed to be playing a little better, breaking Kanepi twice when she was serving for the opening frame to force the tiebreaker.
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During the changeover between sets, Osaka spent extra time working with the trainer before quickly falling behind in the second before deciding to end the match.
In her on-court interview, Kanepi, who will play eighth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the second round, said, “It’s very tough to see that she has to retire this way.”
Emma Raducanu, the reigning US Open champion from Britain, was eliminated in the first round after losing to Camila Giorgi of Italy 7-6 (7/0), 6-2.
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“It was a really good match, to be honest,” Raducanu said. “The level was pretty high, especially in the first set.
“Camila’s a great opponent. She won this tournament last year. I just need to get better at dealing with players who play probably as quick as she does “
Six breaks to serve were traded between the two players in the first set before Giorgi flipped a switch and easily won the tiebreak, which was over in a flash after a Raducanu double-fault.
(With inputs from agencies)
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