"Just got progressively worse" - Naomi Osaka details her injury after retiring mid-match against Coco Gauff at China Open

Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff faced off for the first time in over two years on the WTA Tour at the 2024 China Open. The electrifying clash delivered on its hype but came to a premature conclusion as the Japanese star was forced to retire mid-way through the match due to injury.

Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff were vying for a place in the quarterfinals at the 2024 China Open when they took to court on October 1. Gauff broke Osaka in her first service game, but the Japanese star quickly wiped out the lead and broke the American No. 1 three times en route to a one-set advantage.

The 20-year-old recouped well in the second set to go toe-to-toe with Osaka's massive groundstrokes and broke the four-time Grand Slam champion's serve three times to send the match into a decider. Naomi Osaka was visibly in pain during the closing stages of the second set and, during the changeover, decided to retire from the match due to a lower back injury. Gauff walked away with a 3-6, 6-4, ret. win.

After the match, Osaka took to social media to give fans more details about her retirement. The former World No. 1 stated that she faced an issue with her back during practice and was not fully fit for the fourth-round contest in Beijing. However, she decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, her injury got worse as the match progressed.

"Hi everyone just wanted to say I’m extremely thankful and happy to have played in Beijing. That being said I feel like I owe a little backstory about today- So I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try, unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match. Totally worth it though lol," Naomi Osaka wrote.

Screenshot from Instagram

Coco Gauff to face Yuliia Starodubtseva in China Open QF after clash against Naomi Osaka

Coco Gauff (Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff has progressed to the quarterfinals of the China Open for the second year in a row. The 20-year-old will next face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in the last-eight clash on October 3. The World No. 115 has not dropped a set at the tournament and bagged impressive wins over the likes of Katerina Siniakova and tenth Anna Kalinskaya to reach her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, has had a relatively breezy campaign until her fourth-round match against Naomi Osaka. The former US Open champion defeated Clara Burel and Katie Boulter in straight sets before benefiting from Osaka's retirement.

The American will be the firm favorite to make it into the semifinals, where she could face either 15th seed Paula Badosa or Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai.