4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka made a startling announcement after beating Sorana Cirstea in AO's second round, and it's not something she was thrilled about.

The Japanese player was slated to take on Maddison Inglis in the third round of her AO campaign. However, she announced her exit from the tournament on January 25 via an Instagram story, citing physical complications.

Osaka's story read, "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."

The Japanese star was seeded 16th after winning two rounds in a row. The first one was against Antonia Ruzic, whom she defeated 6–3, 3–6, 6–4. In the second round, she got the better of Cîrstea with scores of 6–3, 4–6, 6–2.

Osaka provided further insights about the deterioration of her ailment to the AO authorities. She said "I thought I could push through it. I played my last match with some pain, and thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match, I would be able to handle it. But I warmed up, and it got a lot worse. I definitely have to do more tests, and coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. This is something I have to be really cautious of."

According to FOX News, Osaka decided to end her campaign due to an abdominal issue that has been plaguing her for years. However, this wasn't the first time she experienced abdominal pain during a match.

Naomi Osaka suffered from the same ailment in the 2025 AO

While Osaka decided to end her AO campaign this year after the second round, she appeared in her third-round match at last year’s Australian Open against Belinda Bencic.

The 28-year-old lost the initial set and stopped during the second set due to abdominal pain. However, she was able to resume the match after her trainer gave her a pill.

Following the match, Osaka revealed more about her abdominal pain. She said, "I kind of have a history of it, since I was a teenager. At least once a year, I’d get an ab strain. For me, I want to say it's more the way my serve is, it's quite explosive."

Going by Osaka's words, she probably needs to change the style of her service to avoid similar injuries. Otherwise, she might have to withdraw similarly from prestigious tournaments even in the future.

Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Souvik Roy