Naomi Osaka ends winning streak in China in worst possible way against Coco Gauff

The match was tight, and Naomi Osaka was playing well. She took the first set 6-3 and led the second set 4-3 and was up a break. She simply needed to keep holding serve to win. She couldn't. In fact, her opponent, Coco Gauff, began to control the games completely and won the final three games of the set to even the match.

Getting beaten after winning three straight matches in China - a streak that has been among Osaka's longest in some time - would have been fine. Osaka would have lost to a very good player and one she was beating for most of the match. But Osaka didn't exactly lose as much as she was forced to retire.

Late in the second set, Osaka seemed to grimace when she served, but the issue appeared to be one that had to do more with the frustration of her first serve which was beginning to abandon her. Instead, she suffered some kind of injury. What exactly the ailment was was not overly clear.

Naomi Osaka forced to retire in match with Coco Gauff at the China Open

In her on-court post-match interview, Gauff did not deliver any information that Osaka might have given her on what went wrong. Gauff, of course, was under no obligation to do so as the issue is really Osaka's concern and not for Gauff's to talk about.

The hope is that Osaka, who came back to playing tennis in 2024 after a lengthy layoff due to mental health concerns and to give birth to her first child, can overcome her injury quickly and not be forced to miss too much time. She has had an inconsistent year, but she also has the ability to play with anyone on the WTA tour. Few can match her power.

Gauff will now move on to the quarterfinals where she will play Yuliia Starodubtseva. The American should be the heavy favorite in the match. She still does need to figure out what is going on with her second serve, though. That could keep her from ultimately winning in Beijing.

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