Naomi Osaka said it herself: She had a fun week at the Bad Homburg Open. Her serve was powerful, she got through most opponents in straight sets, and was trending well for Wimbledon. That was, until she wasn't.
In the final against Karolina Muchova, Osaka was being outplayed by Muchova and was throttled in the first set 6-1. She was also suddenly dealing with a foot injury, though, and she retired from the match one game into the second set. That's alarming for two reasons.
One is that Osaka failed to have a chance to win her first tournament above a WTA 125 event since she returned to the sport two years ago. Maybe even if she had not gotten hurt, she would have lost anyway. Mucova is a very good player with the potential to win the grass-court major, which begins on Monday, June 29.
Naomi Osaka lost her Bad Homburg battle but could win the war in Wimbledon
But it is to do with that last part that could be concerning for Osaka. If her foot injury is bad enough, she might be forced to withdraw from Wimbledon. While she's never had much success at the Grand Slam (she's won four majors, but those were the Australian Open twice and the US Open twice), no one wants her to miss the tournament.
The positive sign is that the Japanese player was in high spirits after the match. She didn't behave like someone who had just been dealt another injury blow. She spoke with style and class in the trophy presentation, and said she had a "very fun time."
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None of that is meant to cement that she might have retired because she suffered a minor ailment and saw no path to coming back against a player in better form. But, ironically, many tennis fans might hope that's the case. It is, after all, better to stop in a lesser tournament than risk missing a major by taking a risk of making a small injury a much bigger one.
No official word has been announced yet (this is being written on Saturday, June 27, and we will update this post with any new information) about Naomi Osaka missing or participating in the 2026 Wimbledon.
She is scheduled to play Elsa Jacquemot in the first round on Monday, though the schedule could change. Jacquemot is the No. 82-ranked player on the tour and has never won a WTA-sanctioned event. That doesn't mean she can't beat Osaka, however.
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