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 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

The 26-year-old was forced to retire during the last 16 against eventual champion Coco Gauff at the China Open in Beijing last week because of the same injury

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.