US Open: Naomi Osaka 'stressed' over fitness after withdrawal
- Published
Naomi Osaka is seeded fourth for the US Open
Former US Open champion Naomi Osaka says she is "stressed" and unsure whether she will be fully fit for this year's tournament, which starts on Monday.
The 22-year-old Japanese withdrew from the Western and Southern Open final on Saturday with a left hamstring injury.
World number 10 Osaka was due to play Belarus' Victoria Azarenka in New York.
Her withdrawal means Azarenka is champion by default, the former world number one's first title since 2016.
Osaka has been drawn to play compatriot Misaki Doi in the US Open first round on Monday.
"I just hope I'm giving myself the opportunity and the chance to have enough time [to recover]," she said.
Osaka put her injury down to the lack of ice baths in the bio-secure bubble.
She said: "Honestly, I'm a bit stressed, but at the same time I feel like I have to keep forcing into my brain that I made the choice to come here, so I shouldn't be stressed about it and I should just be happy to be playing in the first place.
"So that's kind of what I have been trying to think.
"Of course I never want to lose in the first round, and I don't even want to have that thought in my head, but I know that's a possibility. So I'm just going to think about doing the best that I can."
Only four of the women's top 10 players are due to play at Flushing Meadows after a host of withdrawals over coronavirus concerns.
Earlier on Saturday, Osaka said she wanted to "thank everyone for the outpouring of support" after an "emotional week".
She initially pulled out of her semi-final at the Western and Southern Open because "as a black woman I feel there are much more important matters at hand"., external
Tournament organisers then suspended play in New York on Thursday, one of a number of sporting events in the US to do so in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake - a black man who was shot seven times in the back by police on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Osaka decided to play on Friday, beating Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-2 7-6 (7-5) in her rearranged semi.
The Western and Southern Open is usually held in Cincinnati but was moved to New York to create a two-tournament safety bubble that also incorporates the US Open, first Grand Slam since the sport was put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.