Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has retired from Wimbledon after failing to recover from an Achilles injury. An update posted on the official Wimbledon website on Saturday confirmed that the world number 43 had been added to the list of withdrawals along with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who has a shoulder injury.
“My Achilles is not well yet, so see you next time,” he later said on Twitter. “I feel like life is still handing out letters and you’ll never get used to it, but it’s how you adapt to awkward situations that really says things about your character. I’ve been repeating a lot of mantras in my head lately.
“I don’t know if it’s to help me unconsciously in stressful times or to make it easier for my mind to realize that everything will be fine as I get to work. Why else can you do that?”
Osaka, 24, recently posted a video of herself doing rehab on a treadmill in which she said her Achilles “was still stubborn.” There were already doubts about whether he would compete in SW19 after saying that playing the tournament without ranking points made him feel like an “exhibition”.
Osaka also retired from Wimbledon last year following a highly publicized withdrawal from the French Open, after which he chose his competitions carefully to protect his mental health. He has not played on the pitch since 2019 and lost a month ago in the first round of the French Open.
Matteo Berrettini celebrates his semi-final victory over Zandschulp’s Botic van at Queen’s. Photo: Tolga Akmen / EPA
At the Queen’s Club, Matteo Berrettini reached his fourth consecutive grass court final by defeating Dutchman Bots van de Zandschulp. The reigning champion kept his streak warm on the turf and won 6-4, 6-3.
The second setback was briefly restrained in the second set by a short rain delay, but broke the serve again and came to victory, ending the match with an orderly drop volley.
The world number 10 reached the Wimbledon final last year, losing to Novak Djokovic, his only defeat in his last 20 turf matches. The Italian beat Andy Murray in the final of the Stuttgart Open last Sunday.
Berrettini, 26, will be the big favorite in Sunday’s final against Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who took advantage of a poor display from double-winner Marin Cilic. Krajinovic, who had never won a turf match before this week, won 6-3, 6-3 against the Croatian seventh seed.
Krajinovic, 30, continued to be amazed as he dismantled Cilic, whose generally strong service did not malfunction. “I don’t like to play on the grass, I usually skip the events on the grass court, then I sign up and lose in the first round of Wimbledon. But maybe I’m starting to like it, “he said.