Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Japan Open before Friday’s quarter-final because of a leg injury sustained in the second round.
The former world number one held back tears and needed painkillers to come through a three-set last-16 win over defending champion Suzan Lamens on Wednesday.
Top seed Osaka, who completed the match with strapping on her left thigh, was due to face Jaqueline Cristian in the last eight but the Romanian will instead progress to the semi-finals.
The Japan Open made the announcement on X, saying: “We regret to announce that Naomi Osaka has not recovered from a left leg injury sustained during the second round of this tournament and has withdrawn from the quarter-finals scheduled for today.”
It is not yet known whether Osaka will play in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo later this month.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is the latest high-profile player to suffer late-season injury issues.
In September, Iga Swiatek complained the season is “too long and too intense” following a string of injuries among players at the China Open.
Raducanu won 28 matches this year and reached the semi-finals in Washington, but her most impressive week was at the Miami Open in March.
The British number one reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event, beating eighth seed Emma Navarro on the way before losing in three sets to fourth-ranked Pegula.
She was coached by Mark Petchey from Miami until Wimbledon, with Roig taking over in time for the US Open.
The initial agreement with Rafael Nadal’s former coach was until the end of the season but the partnership will continue, with a training block pencilled in for the end of the year.
Raducanu told BBC Sport her three-day trial with Roig after Wimbledon was like a “black ops mission” as they tried to keep the meeting secret.
She came very close to beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka at their first tournament together in Cincinnati in August.
Roig was also with Raducanu in New York, where she reached the third round before being beaten by 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong and British number two Katie Boulter tell BBC Sport their focus is on their upcoming tie with Japan.
Emma Raducanu is absent after choosing to play on the WTA Tour this week.
EMMA RADUCANU suffered one of her heaviest defeats at the Grand Slams as she was blown away by clean-hitting Elena Rybakina.
The former US Open champion was crushed 6-1 6-2 in the third round by the 2022 Wimbledon conqueror.
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Emma Raducanu was dumped out of the US OpenCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
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The Brit was blitzed by pal and doubles partner Elena RybakinaCredit: AP
The pair may have shared the doubles court together and have a decent relationship in the locker room but it was one-way traffic for the Eastern European.
Fashion mogul Anna Wintour watched on from Raducanu’s box as the 22-year-old, wearing her lucky colour of red, was easily beaten before most New Yorkers had grabbed their lunches.
It is her misfortune that she has been dumped out of the four Slams this year by multiple champions Iga Swiatek (Australia and French Open) and Aryna Sabalenka (Wimbledon).
The first clash against the Pole represents the heaviest major loss on her CV – a 6-1 6-0 walloping in Melbourne in January.
Up to 34 in the world, her task ahead of the 2026 Australian Open is to be one of the top 32 seeds so she avoids a big name in the opening rounds.
Raducanu’s serving had been impressive this week but then she did have to play two qualifiers from Asia, Ena Shibahara and Janice Tjen, who were both eliminated in under 62 minutes.
This was a significant step-up in class, though Rybakina does not have a great record at the US Open, having never made the quarter-finals before.
Raducanu, 23, was broken for the first time in the tournament as Rybakina managed to read the return and was hitting the ball cleanly and with authority, crushing every ball from the baseline.
The Moscow-born Kazakhstani, 26, was giving Raducanu no time to breathe on a much cooler morning at Flushing Meadows, far removed from some of the more stifling, humid days the players have had to experience in tournaments past.
Rybakina was firmly in charge when she broke for the second time in game six of the first set.
Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper accused of ‘ex vibes’ as Carlos Alcaraz is upstaged by Brits’ awkward embrace at net
The Brit had no answer and after 27 minutes, despite coach Francisco Roig’s constant talk and instructions from the sidelines, she was a set behind.
Even when she thought she could make an inroad into the Rybakina serve, her opponent produced a powerful first serve in response.
Having cruised through her opening two appearances, this was an example of the real Grand Slam challenge, with Rybakina hitting 11 winners, six off the forehand.
Things got any worse at the start of set two as Raducanu crumbled from 40-love up and was broken by the No9 seed.
Roig, formerly in the Rafa Nadal camp, shouted out “the ball is very heavy” and that is true but it does not help when it comes back at you at such pace and precision.
On the Louis Armstrong Stadium, named after the famous New Orleans-born trumpeter and jazz musician, Raducanu did not have all the time in the world.
In fact her time in the event was all over when 62 minutes on the match clock — her quickest Grand Slam exit.
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An excitable atmosphere continued as the fans – who paid between $25 (£18.50) and $145 (£107) for what British doubles player Jamie Murray described as a “glorified exhibition” – danced to tunes played by an on-court DJ and acted up when appearing on the big screen.
Both sets of players smiled and laughed throughout, further illustrating how the stars are using the event to tune up for their greater priority of the singles.
For some, it underlined the view of the doubles specialists sidelined that a Grand Slam tournament had lost value.
Pegula, who has been ranked world number one in the women’s doubles, and Draper were also a scratch pairing but had too much quality against a pair who are less experienced in tour-level doubles.
For Draper, it was third time lucky – having seen previous planned partners Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa withdraw through injury.
Pegula and Draper’s mutual will-to-win was more evident than some of the pairings, looking focused as they later beat Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to reach the last four.
The Russian pair earlier knocked out 24-time major singles champion Novak Djokovic and his fellow Serb Olga Danilovic in the first round,
British number ones Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper will face each other in this week’s new-look US Open mixed doubles event in New York.
Raducanu, 22, is partnering five-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz, while Draper, 23, will play with American Jessica Pegula after their original partners, Tommy Paul and Paula Badosa, both withdrew.
Organisers were heavily criticised in February after announcing that the mixed doubles competition would be a standalone event on 19-20 August – before the singles tournament begins on 24 August.
The 16 pairs involved will compete for $1m (£749,077) at Flushing Meadows.
Raducanu, who won the US Open title in 2021, and Spaniard Alcaraz have been handed a wildcard entry for the two-day tournament.
Before the event, Alcaraz, 22, is taking on world number one Jannik Sinner for the fourth time this season, in the final of the Cincinnati Open in Ohio on Monday.
Italian Sinner, 24, who is also a wildcard entrant, has been re-paired with Czech Katerina Siniakova after his partner, American Emma Navarro, withdrew.
Draper and Pegula, meanwhile, have qualified directly and have been given the top seeding, because both players are inside the top five in the singles rankings.
The first two rounds will take place on Tuesday and the semi-finals and final will be played on Wednesday.
Just four games will be required to win a set in matches before the final, with no-advantage scoring (four points will be needed to win a game) and 10-point match tie-breaks instead of a third set throughout.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu fell agonisingly short of beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka and earning a statement win at the Cincinnati Open.
Raducanu, 22, lost 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) as defending champion Sabalenka edged a battle lasting more than three hours to reach the fourth round.
Having also pushed Sabalenka at Wimbledon, Raducanu’s performance was further evidence she can severely test the world’s best as her revival continues.
This season, with the British number one’s fitness issues largely behind her and the development of a new-found resilience, she has climbed back into the top 40.
“As I said at Wimbledon I am really happy to see her healthy – mentally and physically,” said Sabalenka.
“Every time she is improving and I can see she is getting back to her best.
“I’m enjoying fighting against her – she is such an incredible player.”
Raducanu could be seeded among the leading 32 players at the upcoming US Open, providing a more favourable draw – in theory at least – at the hard-court Grand Slam which she won as a teenage qualifier in 2021.
On the basis of this display against Sabalenka, there are plenty of positives for Raducanu to take into the final major of the season.
After four breaks of serve between the pair in the opening five games, Raducanu came from 30-0 down to grab another and make it 5-3.
The 22-year-old won seven points in a row to bring up three set points and took the first with an ace.
In the second set, Raducanu drew errors from her 24-year-old opponent and eventually earned a break for 3-2.
From that point the world number 39, ranked four spots higher than Danilovic, did not drop another game as she booked her spot in the third round in Ohio.
Raducanu is playing in the WTA 1,000 event for the first time since 2022 and could next face world number one Aryna Sabalenka, against whom she suffered a narrow Wimbledon defeat last month.
Earlier, Poland’s Iga Swiatek eased through to the last 32 as the Wimbledon champion claimed a 6-1 6-4 win over Russian Anastasia Potapova.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the United States saved two match points before beating Germany’s Eva Lys 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1).
Emma Raducanu says she is “excited” to be working with Rafael Nadal’s former coach Francis Roig as she prepares for this year’s US Open.
The 22-year-old had been working with British coach Mark Petchey on an informal basis since March and has now added Spaniard Roig to her team full-time.
Roig, 57, worked alongside Nadal’s uncle Toni from 2005 to 2022 and was part of all 22 of the Spaniard’s Grand Slam victories.
“He’s obviously got a bank of experience and I’m very excited to continue working with him and to have him on my side,” Raducanu told Sky Sports.
The British number one is playing in the Cincinnati Open for the first time since 2022 this week and will face either fellow Briton Katie Boulter or Serb Olga Danilovic in her opening match after receiving a first-round bye.
Roig has joined Raducanu for the WTA 1,000 event in Ohio, which is the last tournament before the final Grand Slam of the season begins in New York on 24 August.
“It’s going really well,” Raducanu said. “It’s my second day with [Roig] here, but I did a few days in London before I came out here.”
The Briton showed resilience in the early stages by staving off five break points in her opening service game.
She then wrapped up the opening set in style by winning five successive games.
After exchanging a couple of breaks in the second set, Raducanu – who also beat Ruse in Auckland in 2024 – found the crucial break to lead 5-4 and served out for the match.
Since losing against Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon earlier in July, Raducanu has bounced back strongly with four victories from five appearances on hard courts.
If she gets past Stearns in Montreal, American fifth seed and 2025 Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova could be waiting in the third round.
Boulter narrowly avoided being on the end of a bagel against Zarazua, saving two set points to get to 5-1, but the Mexican swiftly wrapped up the opener when back on serve.
The 28-year-old put up greater resistance in the second but never managed to get a foothold in the match as she crashed out.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu is through to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the Washington Open after beating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
After previously upsetting Ukrainian seventh seed Marta Kostyuk in round one, the 22-year-old produced a dominant performance to overcome former world number one Osaka 6-4 6-2.
The 2021 US Open women’s singles champion will face wildcard Maria Sakkari in the last eight after the Greek player knocked out American second seed Emma Navarro.
Raducanu, who will replace Katie Boulter as British number one when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday, is also through to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles.
She and partner Elena Rybakina overcame Giuliana Olmos and Aldila Sutjiadi 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to set up a last-four meeting with second seeds Shuai Zhang and Taylor Townsend.
However, in the men’s singles, Britons Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans were eliminated in the last 16.
British number two Norrie lost to 14th seed Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
After a tight first set was decided by a tie-break, American Nakashima twice broke Norrie’s serve in the second to reach the quarter-finals.
Evans, who won the tournament in 2023, fought back from 5-3 down and saved a match point to force a tie-break in the second set against Corentin Moutet but the Frenchman prevailed in straight sets, winning 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
