Why Emma Raducanu vs Naomi Osaka was cancelled, and when British star plays next
MELBOURNE — Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka both pulled out of a high-profile charity match on Tuesday – but each woman has been privately quick to allay any fears about their Australian Open participation.
Raducanu “woke up a little sore” on Tuesday morning, according to a source, and her team felt “playing it safe” was the best move with the first grand slam of the year less than a week away.
Donna Vekic had already been drafted in as a replacement for Osaka, whose withdrawal came first on Monday night but is described as “precautionary” as she makes her comeback after 15 months out of the game.
Both Raducanu and Osaka were given stiff physical tests last week: the Briton, who had triple surgery last summer, was described by Wimbledon semi-finalist Elina Svitolina as one of her toughest opponents for the first two sets of their match before Raducanu faded physically in the decider. Osaka meanwhile lost her second-round match to Karolina Pliskova, again in three hard-fought sets.
Given those matches, and heavy strapping on Raducanu’s thigh, it was something of a surprise that the superstar pair, who won the US Open in consecutive years (2020 and 2021), announced they would face off on Rod Laver Arena in what surely would have been a sell-out exhibition on Tuesday night.
But that fell apart, cancelled just hours before it was due to get underway as part of “Opening Week”, a series of events that will also feature Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, and a number of “special surprise guests”.
The nay-sayers will inevitably already be repeating their “here we go again” assessment of Raducanu, but in fairness she has been out of elite sport for eight months and did not have a trouble-free rehabilitation period either, set back several times during recovery that forced her off court for days at a time. Caution seems like a reasonable approach in the circumstances.
Raducanu is expected to play again on Thursday at the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event where Andy Murray is on Wednesday’s schedule, and Raducanu could face either teen sensation Mirra Andreeva, 16, or Paula Badosa, another player who missed most of last year through injury. If Raducanu pulls out of that as well, there might be some reasonable cause for concern.
Osaka meanwhile appears a player reborn after taking time out of the game to start a family. She admits she is far happier to be on tour and is embracing tennis life rather than trying to block it out, but nothing can substitute the weekly rigours of the professional game. Nevertheless, it is unlikely we will see her play again outside of the practice courts until the Australian Open starts on Sunday. Only then can we really be sure what physical state she is in.
