‘Breaks my heart’: Injured Osaka forced out of the AO, Inglis now guaranteed $480,000
Updated ,first published
Dual champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open with a left abdominal injury, sending local qualifier Maddison Inglis into the fourth round and guaranteeing her “life-changing” prizemoney.
After consecutive three-set victories over Antonia Ruzic and Sorana Cirstea, Osaka announced on Saturday night that she would be unable to take the court against world No.168 Inglis, who receives a walkover to the last 16, where she will take on six-time major winner Iga Swiatek.
The abdominal issue is a recurring one for the Japanese superstar that has caused several withdrawals and retirements, including in the third round of last year’s Open after losing the first set to Belinda Bencic.
It was a shattering development for Osaka, but Inglis – who saved two match points in her first-round qualifying match before going on a fairytale run – will suddenly leave with at least a $480,000 payday from singles alone, which climbs beyond half a million with her doubles winnings.
“The experience, the fans, the courts that I’m getting on – it’s honestly unbelievable,” Inglis told Nine, the owner of this masthead.
“It’s like a dream. But that money is life-changing. When I saw first-round [qualifying] was $40,000, I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s amazing’, so it’s unbelievable.”
News of Osaka’s withdrawal began circulating just before 8pm on Saturday, shortly before she confirmed her decision on Instagram, saying that she needed to “address something my body needs attention for”.
“I was so excited to keep going, and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart, but I can’t risk doing any further damage, so I can get back on the court,” Osaka posted.
“Thanks for all the love and support … I’m so grateful everyone embraced me so much. And thank you to my whole team for always having my back, and the tournament organisers for being so kind.”
Osaka later added that she had hoped to play through the problem after suffering pain in her win over Cirstea, during which she went to the locker room briefly after losing the second set before taking a medical timeout while 2-1 up in the final set.
“I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match [on Saturday], I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse,” she said.
“I definitely have to do more tests, and obviously, I think coming back from pregnancy [she returned two years ago], my body changed quite a lot, so this is something I have to be really cautious of. I just have to talk with a couple of doctors.
“It was nice that everyone enjoyed my outfit, but also, I enjoyed playing the tennis here. I played two three-set matches, and I felt really physically healthy [outside] my ab ... I’m just grateful to be otherwise very healthy, and I hope that I’m able to play some good tennis for the rest of the year.”
Osaka had a headline-grabbing Australian Open, walking onto Rod Laver Arena for her first-round match in a jellyfish-inspired outfit, complete with a white umbrella, hat and veil, that included a nod to her viral butterfly moment at the 2021 Australian Open.
The 28-year-old former world No.1 also had a second-round run-in with retirement-bound Cirstea, who took exception to Osaka pumping herself up and audibly saying “C’mon” between first and second serves.
The two players had an icy exchange at the net post-match, with Osaka still rattled when she completed her on-court interview before later apologising when she spoke to the media.
“Well, if I’m being honest, I’ve never been involved in something like this before, so it’s like, I don’t know if we’re supposed to leave it on the court and be like, ‘Hey, how [are] you doing?’ [in the locker room],” Osaka said.
“I’m a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her. I also want to apologise. I think the first couple things that I said on the court was disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people – that’s not what I do.”
Inglis is contesting her first main draw at a major since Wimbledon four years ago, joining Alex de Minaur as the only Australians still in singles contention.
The unscheduled break will do Inglis good after needing 14 sets and more than 13 hours battling through qualifying and winning her first two main draw matches.
Inglis also moves to No.113 in the live WTA rankings, just one off her career-best.
Read more of our Australian Open coverage
Marc McGowan is a sports reporter for The AgeConnect via X.