Following Naomi Osaka’s unexpected China Open retirement, Coco Gauff assists in carrying her baggage off the court.Following Naomi Osaka’s unexpected China Open retirement, Coco Gauff assists in carrying her baggage off the court.
Shortly after Gauff tied the China Open quarterfinal at one set all, Osaka quit due to a back ailment.
Following Naomi Osaka’s retirement from their eagerly awaited China Open quarterfinal due to a back injury, Coco Gauff assisted in carrying her baggage off the court.
After receiving medical attention earlier in the match, Osaka shook hands with her opponent after Gauff had just tied the match at one set all.
“Until now, it was a good match,” Gauff remarked. “I hope Naomi gets well soon. Nobody likes to win this kind of match, especially if it’s a one-set affair.
In the match between the former US Open winners, Osaka was playing Gauff for the first time since 2022 and was hoping to defeat her younger opponent.
Osaka broke Gauff to take a 6-3 4-3 lead in her maiden event under Serena Williams’ old coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
However, Gauff leveled the match before Osaka retired by winning the following three games. “I did my best overall,” Gauff acknowledged. “I didn’t play my best tennis.”
Next up for fourth seed Gauff is Yuliia Starodubtseva, a Ukrainian qualifier who defeated 10th seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 6-0 to extend her incredible run.
The Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai’s incredible week also continued as the veteran, who entered the competition having dropped 24 straight singles matches, defeated Magdalena Frech 6-4 6-2 to record four straight wins.
She will face 15th seed Paula Badosa in the round of eight, who defeated Jessica Pegula, the US Open finalist, 6-4 6-0.
