Naomi Osaka forced to pull out of Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo with back injury
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka (27) of Japan has pulled out of next week’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo because of a back injury.
The former world number one has been sidelined since she retired from her last-16 match at the China Open against eventual champion Coco Gauff at the start of the month. She then pulled out of this week’s Japan Open in Osaka.
The 27-year-old was set to compete at the Pan Pacific Open as a wildcard but organisers said she would be “absent because of a lower back injury”.
Osaka’s appearance at the China Open was her first tournament under Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman best known for being the long-time former coach of Serena Williams.
She has struggled for consistency since returning to tennis in January after the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. Her best results since becoming a parent have been two quarter-final appearances.
China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen – ranked number seven in the world – is the top-ranked player at the Pan Pacific Open. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina and Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia are also set to compete.
Naomi Osaka says she is at a stage in life where she “does not want to have regrets”, after hiring Patrick Mouratoglou as her new coach.
Japan’s Osaka beat Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2 at the China Open in her first match with Mouratoglou – formerly the long-time coach of Serena Williams – in her corner.
The 26-year-old split with Wim Fisette, who she won two of her four Grand Slam titles with, earlier in September.
Osaka said she was initially hesitant about working with Mouratoglou.
“The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big,” she said.
“This isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.
“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach.”
Osaka made her return from maternity leave in January but has struggled for consistency since.
She has reached the quarter-finals in only two of the 16 tournaments she has played this season and has not gone past the second round of a Grand Slam.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” Osaka said of working with Mouratoglou.
“I’d rather pull the trigger on something and I don’t want to say ‘fail’, but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career.
“I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment.”
Osaka is next in action against 21st seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round in Beijing.
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