Naomi Osaka reveals 'shocking' plans for Wimbledon after exit from Madrid Open
May 02, 2022
Madrid [Spain], May 2 : Former No.1 Naomi Osaka shed light on her Wimbledon plan this year and brushed off any long-term injury concerns after her 6-3, 6-1 loss to Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round of the Madrid Open on Sunday.
Despite her struggles from the baseline, Osaka unveiled an improved net game over her two matches in Madrid, particularly on her backhand side. In the past, Osaka has relied on a two-handed backhand volley, but in Madrid, she was comfortably punching balls away with one hand.
"So I have been really trying to focus on my net game because I'm going to play mixed doubles in Wimbledon. I know, shocking, right? I'm shocked too," Osaka revealed.
"I really don't want to disappoint the person I'm playing with, because whenever I play doubles I always say, 'Sorry.' I'm going to try not to be a liability."
Osaka was reserved when asked to disclose her doubles partner. "If this person sees it and they want to like respond, they can do that, but I don't know, isn't it more fun to kind of see it when it's around the time? I'm pretty sure if you wanted to guess you could guess who it is."
The 24-year-old disclosed that her Achilles started bothering her after her first-round win against Anastasia Potapova last Friday.
"I felt something in my Achilles after my last match, and I wasn't really able to hit yesterday because I wanted it to go away. Honestly, I probably should have been a bit smarter about the whole way that I went through everything," said Naomi Osaka in a Madrid post-tournament presser as per wta.com.
"I felt it again today and I tried to take ibuprofen [during the match] but I probably should have taken it way sooner than I did. But, yeah, I'm sure it will be fine," she added.
Osaka said she experienced similar pain in her Achilles after the Miami Open a few years ago.
"I can't imagine that it will be a huge problem unless something significant happens, but I think for right now, just learning how to move forward with everything," she said.
Naomi Osaka is currently on the entry list for the upcoming Italian Open event in Rome, which begins on May 9.
