Newly crowned US Open champion Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open with a sore hamstring on Thursday, in a fresh blow to the coronavi...
Newly crowned US Open champion Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open with a sore hamstring on Thursday, in a fresh blow to the coronavirus-hit Grand Slam which is already missing world number one Ashleigh Barty.
Japan’s Osaka made the announcement just days after lifting her third Major title behind closed doors in New York, the first Grand Slam tournament since the pandemic.
“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play the French Open this year,” Osaka said in posts on Instagram and Twitter. “My hamstring is still sore so I won’t have enough time to prepare for the clay – these two tournaments came too close to each other for me this year.”
The French Open is due to start on September 27 at Roland Garros, rescheduled from earlier in the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Osaka, who has never made it out of the third round of the French Open, did not say when she will play next. She did assure her fans they would see her “sooner than later”.
