And on Thursday, former world number one Naomi Osaka compounded her problems by withdrawing from her home Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, citing abdominal pain as the reason.
The 24-year-old Japanese player withdrew from the match with Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the second round, citing a “body won’t let” her compete.
In a statement provided by tournament organizers, Osaka stated, “It’s an honor to be able to play at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in front of the fantastic spectators here in Japan.”
I wish I could have played today since this event means so much to me, but my body just won’t cooperate.
“Thank you for all your support this week and I will see you next year,” she continued.
The four-time Grand Slam victor was hoping to break out of a slump at the 2019 tournament’s reigning champion in Tokyo.
As a result of her terrible recent play, which has seen her lose in the first round of her last three events, she has fallen to position number 48 in the women’s world rankings.
The opening round match between Osaka and Australian Daria Saville in Tokyo lasted all of seven minutes until Saville had to withdraw due to a knee injury.
Saville tore her anterior cruciate ligament, which forced her to withdraw from the game.
On Monday, Osaka said she’d had “more down than up” in 2018.
Although she acknowledged that “this year has not been the best year for me,” she was relieved to report that her health has improved.
Despite the fact that this past year was marked by more lows than highs, I am pleased with my current position in life.
Osaka has struggled all year, falling out of the top 10 and losing in the first round at both the French Open and the US Open.
She withdrew from Wimbledon with an Achilles’ ailment, after first considering boycotting the tournament because ranking points would not be awarded.
Osaka has discussed her own battles with mental health in the past.
Her decision to drop out of the Pan Pacific Open followed the early elimination of numerous other top players.
first place Champion at Wimbledon Elena Rybakina, as well as runners-up Paula Badosa of Spain and Caroline Garcia of France, were knocked out in their first-round matches.
Sixth-seeded Czech player Karolina Pliskova was eliminated on Thursday after being defeated by Petra Martic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-4, in the second round.