Trouble Ahead? Naomi Osaka Pulls Out of Australian Open Warmup Tournament Before Semi-Finals

4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has finally made her return (after battling mental health issues in 2021) to tennis this year. The 24-year-old star is in Melbourne, where she is one of the highlights of the Summer of Tennis in the country.

In fact, Osaka has been off to a great start, dropping only a single set through her first three matches after a long hiatus. However, there seem to be dark clouds ahead. The Japanese star, who was going to play World No. 26 Veronika Kudermetova in the semi-final of the Melbourne Summer Set 1, has withdrawn from the match.

Naomi Osaka pulls out of her semifinal

The Melbourne Summer Set 1 is a warmup tournament ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. Naomi, the current champion, is all set to defend her title this year. However, she wouldn’t be able to finish her warmup tournament.

Aug 30, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA. Naomi Osaka of Japan enters to play Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic on day one of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Osaka has cited an ‘abdominal injury‘ as the reason for her withdrawal. Even though an abdominal injury sounds serious and might not seem to bode well for her Australian Open title defense, there is still hope.

Naomi Osaka pulls out of her semifinal vs. Kudermetova later today (abdominal injury).

Maybe not so bad news: she did the same in the two warm-up events before her last two Slam wins (US Open 2020 and AusOpen 2021)

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 8, 2022

This is because Naomi Osaka has pulled out of two warmup events in a similar fashion in the past. In fact, for those looking for the silver lining, both those events had preceded two Grand Slam championships for the Japanese-American star.

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Osaka had pulled out of the warmup events before both of her last two Grand Slam wins, the 2020 US Open, as well as the 2021 Australian Open. Thus, it might not that terrible of a development. For all we know, Osaka is simply employing a clever tactic to get some rest before the Grand Slam. In fact, many veterans are known to do the same.

Martina Navratilova wants Osaka to focus on minor tournaments as well

18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has nothing but praise for Naomi Osaka. According to Martina, Naomi is a lot like Serena Williams in that regard. “Naomi dominated the majors, but never the little tournaments,” Navratilova said.

Tennis – WTA 250 – Melbourne Summer Set – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 4, 2022 Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts during her round of 32 match against France’s Alize Cornet REUTERS/Loren Elliott

In that regard, for Navratilova, a complete player must dominate not only the major tournaments but the smaller ones as well. “You can’t just use the other tournaments as warmups,” Navratilova expressed her dissatisfaction with the practice.

Do you think it is justified to pull out of a warmup tournament just to conserve energy for the bigger championships?

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