BEVERLY HILLS, February 06, (THEWILL) – In their decision to prioritise participation in the season opening Slam of the year, former Australian Open champions Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka have withdrawn from their warm-up tournaments for the Open on Saturday, due to injuries.
Former world number one Osaka pulled out of her Gippsland Trophy semi-final match citing an unspecified “niggling injury” but said she looked forward to be ready by Monday when the Australian starts.
In a statement from the player, an apology and explanation followed: “Sorry to Tennis Australia and the fans to have to withdraw today. I have a niggling injury and in light of the AO on the horizon, I need to be cautious. I look forward to competing next week.”
The warm-up events on the female side of the Open has been hit by injuries that will worry the organisers, who have invested so much in making a success of the Slam in the midst of a challenging and unrelenting pandemic.
Osaka’s withdrawal comes a day after American tennis icon Serena Williams pulled out of her Yarra Valley Open warm-up event semi-final against Australian Ashleigh Barty, the current world number one.
Instead, Barty will contend against one of the most in-form players on the female court, the Spanish former world number one Garbine Muguruza. Muguruza thrashed defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-2 6-2 in their quarter-final and topped that performance up with a 6-1 6-0 walkover over of Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday in impressive fashion.
After losing in the final to Kenin at Melbourne Park last year, the Spaniard has shown her determination to better that outcome, dropping only 10 games in four matches on her way to the final of her warm-up event.
In her post-match interview, she made it clear that she knew it was going to be tough against Barty: “I think I played well today, my serve was working well at the right moments and I was able to control the match. I’m expecting another battle tomorrow.”
With Osaka’s withdrawal, Belgian Elise Mertens got a walkover to the final of their Gippsland Trophy event, where she will meet Ekaterina Alexandrova or Kaia Kanepi in the last battle for the trophy.
Serena and Osaka are not the only female players to withdraw yet. Azarenka, who won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012-13, also withdrew from her Grampians Trophy quarter-final against Anett Kontaveit, giving the latter a walkover. The cause of her withdrawal was said to be a lower back problem by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The Estonian Kontaveit will play Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals after the Greek played an incredible game to oust 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-2 in their quarter-final in front of a small crowd on Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park.
These withdrawals might be due to the lack of optimum fitness training ahead of the warm-up events due to coronavirus restrictions around the players before and after their arrivals at their hotel quarantines in Australia. Tennis Australia will be sweating the possibility of more injuries as the Open begins.
About the Author
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.
