Naomi Osaka appears to have shaken off an abdominal injury that cast a cloud over her preparation for the Australian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion made the final of the ASB Classic in the lead-up to the first major of the season but was forced to retire and undergo an MRI scan.
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Although not going into detail on Friday about the results of the scan, Osaka said she’s ready for her first-round match against Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.
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“I’m normally a really honest person but I probably won’t answer your question honestly,” she said.
“The MRI, it wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad at the same time.
“I’m pretty optimistic about playing my match, I mean for sure I’m going to play my match, and I’ve been practising pretty well for the two days that I’ve been here.”
The 27-year-old has taken confidence from her performance in the WTA event in Auckland and has moved on mentally from the immediate devastation she felt upon retiring from the final there.
“It just sucked because I felt like my body wasn’t keeping up with what my mind wanted it to do, and obviously I was very concerned about my chances playing here, so I felt like the best decision was to pull out, even though I really didn’t want to,” Osaka said.
That feeling was exacerbated by her campaign last year, spent largely rebuilding following a long stint of maternity leave.
“At that moment it was an accumulation of losing in first rounds in 2024 and wanting and hoping to get to a final, and then obviously when I did, I couldn’t play anymore,” she said.
“I’m strangely over it now. Like, 30 minutes after that happened, I was over it because I felt like I’m playing really well, and I can only keep continuing, and hopefully I’ll get to another final.”
Osaka split with long-time coach Wim Fissette in September and reunited with Patrick Mouratoglou. Their partnership seems to have already paid dividends, win, lose or draw at Melbourne Park.
“My mindset now is probably the most clear it’s been in a very long time,” she said.
“Obviously I did pretty well in Auckland. I know I debatably lost in the final but in my head I kind of won it, and for me that’s definitely a new career step because I’ve only ever been to the semis of tournaments before this one.
“I’m really excited to play here, and I’m also excited to be here with Patrick because we technically haven’t lost yet, so it’s going to be a good run I think.”