Naomi Osaka pulls out Gippsland Trophy semifinal

New York- The young tennis star Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the Gippsland Trophy tournament after having a lingering shoulder injury.

Osaka was supposed to play against Elise Mertens but decided that she was going to nurse a lingering shoulder injury that kept nagging her. "Sorry to Tennis Australia and the fans to have to withdraw today,” Osaka said. “I have a niggling injury and in light of the (Australian Open) on the horizon, I need to be cautious. I look forward to competing next week.”

Osaka is a favorite to win the Australian Open and she wants to be close to 100%. Since the pandemic, tennis players had to go through two weeks of quarantine and have not had the practice that they needed to avoid certain injuries. Osaka do not want to risk making her injury worse, so that is why she decided to opt out.