BAD HOMBURG, Germany — Naomi Osaka’s journey to Wimbledon faced an unexpected hurdle as she withdrew at the start of the second set during the Bad Homburg Open final due to a foot injury.
The fourth-seeded Japanese star, playing in her inaugural grass-court final, was trailing 6-1, 1-0 against Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic when she made the decision to retire.
Osaka had taken a medical timeout in the first set, and after signaling her inability to continue, she approached Muchova and the umpire to shake hands.
“I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who came to watch,” Osaka shared with the crowd during the trophy presentation. “I’m sorry for not being able to finish, but the atmosphere here has been absolutely incredible all week.”
This four-time Grand Slam champion, now 28, has not advanced past the third round at Wimbledon, which kicks off on Monday.
As the No. 14 seed, she is set to face Elsa Jacquemot in her opening match.
For Muchova, ranked 11th, this victory marks her third title out of nine tour-level finals and her first on grass.
The final was rescheduled to 11 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), two and a half hours earlier, to help avoid the peak of a heatwave sweeping across much of Europe, bringing unprecedented temperatures.
