07/07/26 02:44:00
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07/07 14:43 CDT Naomi Osaka laments sore feet and 'getting old' after Wimbledon
quarterfinal loss
Naomi Osaka laments sore feet and 'getting old' after Wimbledon quarterfinal
loss
By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) --- Sure, Naomi Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who also
impresses with her fashionable outfits.
On Tuesday, she sounded like the rest of us. The plantar fasciitis was acting
up. She's working too much.
"I'm just getting old," Osaka said.
The 28-year-old Osaka's Wimbledon run and fashion show ended in a 7-6 (4), 6-4
loss to Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals of the grass-court Grand Slam.
Osaka, a former No. 1 player, had ousted top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the
fourth round --- with arguably some of her best tennis since returning from
maternity leave --- but couldn't find her rhythm Tuesday against her Czech
opponent.
"It's hard because I played so well in my last match, then today I just feel
like I didn't play well at all and I didn't have any energy," said Osaka, who
despite the loss still had her best result at the All England Club by reaching
the quarterfinals.
"I could feel it coming because I've played way more matches than I usually do
before a Slam," she added. "I just wanted to try that to see the rhythm, you
know? Obviously it worked out well. But I think I probably won't do that again.
But yeah, I would say it was like an accumulation of playing two weeks straight
without a day off."
In a Wimbledon warmup tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, Osaka had retired
from the final --- against Muchova --- because of a foot injury.
The Japanese player --- who took mental-health breaks starting in 2021 and was
away from the tour while having a daughter --- was asked Tuesday if she has an
ankle issue. No, she responded before joking about "getting old." She did say,
however, that she has "plantar fasciitis on my feet. Well, that's what we
assume it is."
"It kind of started happening off-season last year," Osaka added. "I feel like
maybe it's because I'm a lot more springy on my toes. I think it reactivated on
grass court because I'm pushing off a lot more to go forward. I don't think it
will bother me on hard court. I'm thinking it was maybe just the surface
change."
Osaka has won two of her four major titles (2018 and '20) at the U.S. Open, and
she made it back to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows last year, losing to
Amanda Anisimova.
"I feel like in my head I think there's still an opportunity to win a Slam,"
she said.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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