Naomi Osaka pulls out of Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo due to illness on Thursday.
The 21-year-old Japanese star was in a race to win an eighth major at the tournament, and ended up with a disappointing exit with a loss to Sloane Stephens at 5-3.
Osaka, who won a title at the Australian Open last year before getting her first WTA title in Tokyo, was forced off with an illness in the third set but managed to finish the match, though the loss put an end to her quest for a record 13th career title.
The loss leaves Osaka with an overall career head-to-head record of 13-8, and she’ll be happy to finish off this stretch of bad finishes as her next big tournament is the US Open.
A-GOLF’S PENNY PONCE RANKS AS WORLD No. 1
After a disappointing early exit at the Pan Pacific Open, Naomi Osaka will be looking to go all the way at the US Open next week
Penny Ponce, from San Antonio, Texas, has become the WTA’s first player to reach the top of the WTA rankings following her triumph at the Sony Open on Thursday
No one else in the world has climbed as high up the rankings so far following the Tokyo Open, as she is the first to get a triple crown in successive months.
It was a good turnaround for the 21-year-old Mexican – who lost out to Madison Keys in the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year – after being the last player to win the tournament in 2016 at the WTA Premier 5 final back in October.
Despite her recent success in the Premier-5, the Mexican has never before won the WTT-level title in her career.
Naomi Osaka leaves the Sony Open after losing in the final to Madison Keys
A-GOLF’S PENNY PONCE RANKS AS WORLD No. 1
Naomi Osaka has become the only player to reach the top of the WTA rankings since starting the year ranked No. 1
Penny Ponce has become the first player in the world’s top 20 to win a WTA title after being crowned world No. 1 at the Sony Open
After a strong start to