Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Japan Open due to a back injury that forced her retirement from the China Open last week, organizers said on Monday.

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Japan Open due to a back injury, placing in doubt whether she will play again this season.

Coco Gauff reached the quarter-finals of the China Open after Naomi Osaka retired with a back injury in Beijing. This was a much-anticipated fifth meeting between two of the WTA Tour’s biggest stars – and a first since 2022 – and Gauff had just levelled at one-set all when Osaka, who received medical treatment early in the contest, shook hands.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Japan Open due to a back injury that forced her retirement from the China Open last week, organisers said on Monday. The 26-year-old was forced off court in the second set of her last-16 match at the China Open in Beijing after struggling with a lower back problem against eventual champion Coco Gauff.

Naomi Osaka has been forced to pull out of the WTA 250 event in Osaka, Japan, just a week after being forced to retire from her China Open clash with Coco Gauff