‘Breaks my heart’ – Naomi Osaka withdraws from Australian Open hours before next match

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open just hours before she was due to feature in the third round.

The 28-year-old released a statement announcing she could not compete against Maddison Inglis due to injury.

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Osaka vs Inglis was the next match on the Red Laver Arena night session on Saturday, scheduled to take place after Novak Djokovic‘s third round tie with Botic van de Zandschulp.

The shock announcement of Osaka’s withdrawal came while Djokovic was already one set up.

She said: “I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match.

“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.

“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 organizers for being so kind.”

The former world no.1 and two-time Australian Open champion automatically forfeits her place in the event as a result.

More to follow.