Naomi Osaka's latest injury update isn't very promising as the Japanese indicates her back injury is worse than she initially thought and there are no guarantees that she will be able to play Tokyo next.
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After a couple of rough months, the former world No. 1 made a very positive start to her Asian swing after winning three matches to reach the Beijing round-of-16.
But after going up by a set against Coco Gauff and coming close to earning her biggest win since kicking off her post-pregnancy return, the 26-year-old was forced to retire their match moments after it went into three sets because of a back issue she contracted during a pre-match warmup.
Since then, the four-time Grand Slam champion missed the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan and she is also not competing in her hometown at this week's WTA 250 event in Osaka.
On Instagram she held a Q&A session and one fan wanted to know she was doing.
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"It was worse than what I thought I just have a high pain tolerance lol) and I'm trying my best to potentially play Tokyo but I'm still waiting to see what the doctor says," the former world No. 1 shared.
Missing Tokyo would certainly be heartbreaking for Osaka
For this year's Asian swing, the Japanese had big plans and hopes. And since this is her first year on the Tour as a mother, there was an additional motivation to do well in front of her home fans.
But sadly, she didn't get to play in Osaka this week and now may not even be able to play in Tokyo next week. In the past, the 26-year-old made five main draw appearances in the Japanese capital and twice finished as runner-up - lost the finals in 2016 and 2018.
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If the Japanese tennis star is also forced to miss Tokyo, that would be a big blow to her but also for the organizers and fans.
