Naomi Osaka has pulled will skip next month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The former World No.1 will not be seen in action again this year as she recovers from injuries to her lower back and abdominal muscles. She last competed in the China Open in Beijing on October 1. After being retired hurt midway through her last-16 match against American Coco Gauff.
The four-time Grand Slam champion took the first set 6-3 and led by a break in the second before Gauff rallied from 4-3 down to take the final three games of the set. However, Osaka retired due to a lower back injury after that, while Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals and subsequently won the tournament. Osaka’s lower back problem also caused her to miss the Japan Open and the Pan Pacific Open.
The Billie Jean King Cup finals would have been the last event on her 2024 programme. The Billie Jean King Cup finals will take place in Malaga, Spain, from November 13 to 20. Naomi Osaka helped Japan defeat Kazakhstan in April, qualifying for the finals in her first Billie Jean King Cup appearance since 2020. She has had trouble with consistency since returning to tennis in January.
Naomi Osaka will never be at the top level
Following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. Her best results as a parent have been two quarter-final appearances. Is she prioritising individual glory over national loyalty? Naomi Osaka stated, as reported by Japan’s Kyodo News agency, “I thought I strained my back, but I did an MRI in Beijing and they said that I bulged a disc in my back and I also ruptured abdominal muscles.”
The injuries she has been taking are questionable. After her child’s birth there have been complications of her playing at full flow. There are a lot of expectations from Naomi Osaka. However, the injuries have let her down in recent times. She has not won any grand slams in recent years and represents a notable setback in her career.
