Just hours before she was set to face Maddison Inglis in the third round, Naomi Osaka pulled out of the Australian Open.

It is a major setback for the tournament, especially since Osaka had been playing well and is a two-time champion.

This week will not be one Osaka looks back on fondly, as controversy has followed her since her opening match.

Her first-round outfit drew plenty of attention even before a post-match disagreement with Sorana Cirstea put her back in the spotlight.

This latest decision only adds to what has already been a difficult start to her season.

Naomi Osaka out of Australian Open with injury

Naomi Osaka has addressed the media following her withdrawal from the Australian Open, explaining what led to her decision to pull out.

She told reporters: “Yeah, I mean, it’s an injury I’ve had a couple of times before, and I thought I could push through it. I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse, so yeah.”

Osaka does not yet have a clear diagnosis but shared what she knows so far: “Yeah, I mean, I definitely have to do more tests, and obviously I think coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. So this is something I have to be really cautious of.

“Yeah, I just have to, I guess, talk with a couple of doctors.”

Despite the early exit, Osaka said she still found positives during her time in Melbourne.

“Yeah, I mean, I think for me obviously 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. Well, I guess, not my ab, but just fitness-wise it felt really good.

“Yeah, 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,” she stated.

Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open performances since her comeback

Reaching the third round this year matched her result from 2025, and with a matchup against unseeded Inglis ahead, Osaka would have fancied her chances of pushing through to the fourth round.

Having already won the tournament twice in her career, it is no surprise she felt confident about making a deeper run this time.

She missed the 2023 event altogether due to pregnancy and then made a difficult return in 2024, losing in the first round.

Osaka’s two Australian Open titles came in 2019 and 2021.