Japan’s Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open with a hamstring injury, she said on Thursday.
The 22-year-old had her left hamstring taped when she battled back against Victoria Azarenka in the US Open final in New York on Saturday last week to win her third Grand Slam title.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play the French Open this year,” the world No. 3 wrote on social media. “My hamstring is still sore so I won’t have time to prepare for the clay — these two tournaments came too close to each other for me this time. I wish the organizers and players all the best.”
The French Open is to be held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11 at Roland Garros in Paris after being moved from its usual May-to-June slot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hamstring issue had prompted Osaka to withdraw from the final of the Western & Southern Open in the buildup to the US Open, but it did not appear to hamper her at Flushing Meadows.
The withdrawal of Osaka, who has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros, comes as another blow to the tournament after world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia said she would not be defending her title due to COVID-19 concerns.
Meanwhile, the French Tennis Federation said that it is to allow 5,000 spectators to attend the French Open per day following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the nation.
It had previously said that the clay-court major would permit a maximum of 11,500 fans per day.
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