Concerning signs for teary-eyed Naomi Osaka ahead of Australian Open 2025 after devastating ASB Classic final injury

Naomi Osaka faced a heartbreaking setback ahead of the 2025 Australian Open after she suffered a devastating injury during the final of the ASB Classic on Sunday, January 5. This was Osaka's first time reaching a final after she made it to the championship match at the 2022 Miami Open.

Seeded seventh at the WTA 250 hard court tournament in Auckland, Osaka began her campaign by defeating Israeli qualifier Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 and Julia Grabher 7-5, 6-3 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

In the quarterfinals, the four-time Grand Slam champion overcame Hailey Baptiste 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2 before registering a 6-4, 6-2 win against Alycia Parks in the semifinals to secure her place in the final.

In the championship match, Naomi Osaka started strong, winning the first set 6-4 against fifth seed Clara Tauson. However, she was forced to retire from the match due to an abdominal injury as Tauson clinched the 2025 ASB Classic title, her third career WTA title.

Before the beginning of the 2025 season, Naomi Osaka had competed in the 2024 season, missing out on playing in 2023 due to pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her daughter, Shai, in July 2023.

In 2024, the former World No.1's best result was reaching quarterfinals at the Qatar Open, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova. Osaka also made it to the quarterfinals at the Libema Open before being defeated by eventual runner-up Bianca Andreescu.

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Naomi Osaka was thrilled to reach the 2025 ASB Classic final: “It was definitely really important, I’m happy”

Naomi Osaka at the 2025 ASB Classic [Source: Getty]

After defeating Alycia Parks in the semifinals of the 2025 ASB Classic, Naomi Osaka said that reaching the final was "important" for her. The World No. 57 made light work of Parks, defeating the American in straight sets in a match that lasted for an hour and 11 minutes.

Speaking during the post-match interview on Saturday, Osaka mentioned how she had never made it to a final in the week before the Australian Open.

“It was definitely really important. I’m happy to get through to the final . I’ve actually never gotten to the final of a tournament the week before Melbourne. This is a career first for me . I think in my head I’m really happy there are always things to improve and get better, no matter how old you are,” Osaka said.

She is next expected to compete at the 2025 Australian Open which is scheduled to start on January 12. The Japanese has won the Australian Open title twice - by defeating Petra Kvitova in the final in 2019 and defeating Jennifer Brady in 2021.

However, the four-time Grand Slam champion's participation in the Melbourne Major remains uncertain due to the abdominal injury she sustained at the ASB Classic.