Naomi Osaka had a good run in Stuttgart where she reached the semifinal. Unfortunately, the Japanese sensation had to withdraw before facing Anett Kontaveit in the final 4 because of an abdominal injury
How serious is Naomi’s injury
The world no.1 explained what happened during a press conference to reveal
“I couldn’t lift my upper body. I don’t expect that I will be able to serve. It’s an ab strain, something that I’ve had before. Thankfully, because I’ve had it so many times I am able to tell what it is and I know what to do.
I never want to withdraw, especially in a semi-final, so I am sad. We were in the gym to cool down and they were all happy. I was like, I have some bad news, and sort of sprung it on them that I was in pain. They were cool about it, so I am grateful to them.”
“Good” time to get injured. NAOMI OSAKA
Then Naomi explained that in a way it was a “good time” to be injured to add
“Even though it is bad that I got injured here, I am happy that it happened at the beginning of the clay season, and not in Rome where it is really close to the French Open.
I am happy that I won two matches here. This was a really good boost for me because it let me know that even though I am internalizing pain or feelings, I can still win matches.”
It is still not clear if Naomi will play in Madrid in 1 week’s time, but at this point, it seems unlikely.
