The WTA Tour never fails to surprise tennis fans, does it? In the past, we have witnessed several tales of grit and determination where players struggle physically but come out on top nonetheless. Earlier today, another such stunning moment saw Naomi Osaka win the first set against Coco Gauff 6-3 despite being visibly down with a potential injury. The Japanese star faced Gauff in the round of 16 match at the China Open. During the match, she left fans impressed by taking the first set following a lengthy injury time-out.
Osaka is very well-known for her never-say-die attitude. There have been many instances in the past where she looked down and out but prevailed in the end with her grit and determination. This match held significant importance for Osaka as she was on a winning streak in Beijing this year, having won the tournament once before back in 2019. Thus, she gave it her all despite her fitness issues. She, however, eventually had to withdraw after Gauff won the second set by 6-4 to level the proceedings.
Moreover, it was an emotional matchup for the two players. The two first met in 2019 at the US Open where Osaka prevailed. After their match, Osaka said, “Because we’re so young, I feel of course we’re going to play multiple times in the future. I’m not necessarily looking forward to that. But it will be fun for you guys to watch.”
Ahead of their China Open clash, the Japanese star further added, “She’s very athletic obviously. For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve. So it’s definitely going to be a battle – who wants to take control of the point first? And I think it’s going to be me.” Like the two players, fans also couldn’t control their emotions during the match and took to social media to react to the critical moment of Osaka’s injury time-out.
During the opening set, Osaka called for the physio and had a lengthy chat with her during the time out. For the time being, she decided to continue and left fans amazed by displaying tremendous grit and determination to win the first set. As a result, social media was flooded with praise for Osaka for putting on an amazing show of tennis. However, fans were concerned when she took a timeout while being 3-2 up. Updating on the situation, a concerned fan of Osaka said, “Seems Naomi Osaka is not feeling well against Coco Gauff. She took some medicine from the physio, nothing physical so far. Coco Gauff to serve next at 2-3 down. She didn’t move much in the first 2 serves from Coco just now.” What the fans feared though eventually turned out to be true as Osaka couldn’t complete the match and had to pull out after the second set.
As Osaka was visited by the physio, a concerned fan wondered about the extent of the injury, “Naomi in pain? Why is she getting the physio??????” Although Osaka won the first set, her movement was hampered because of pain. One X user rightly pointed out, “Uh oh. Suddenly Naomi Osaka looks a little uncomfortable moving and a little hampered physically.”
Further, the Japanese star was engaged in a long and serious conversation with the physio during the timeout. She looked in apparent discomfort and complained about it to the physio. As a result, one fan made a saddening prediction about her, commenting, “Naomi Osaka now hurt smh probably gonna retire if she doesn’t improve.” Before the timeout, Osaka somehow held her serve despite struggling with her movement. A fan updated on the situation and wrote, “Medical time out called for Naomi Osaka against Coco Gauff. Gauff to serve next at 2-3 down in set 1.”
Unfortunately, Osaka lost three games in a row in the second set after being 4-3 up. And subsequently, she withdrew from the match with the scores leveled at one set all. Because of her movement being hampered, Osaka felt that it was best to discontinue instead of aggravating the injury further. Can she come back strongly later this season? Let us know your views in the comments below.
