New York, September 6 (Daily Kiran) : , the two-time US Open champion, revealed details about her ongoing Achilles injury Elise Mertens in the third round of the US Open on September 6. The Japanese tennis star shared that the injury has been troubling her since the grass season and is still not fully healed.
Despite the persistent pain, Osaka is determined to give her best on the court. Competing as the 13th seed at Louis Armstrong Stadium, she faced a tough challenge from the 23rd-seeded Belgian player. After trailing 2-4 in the third set and being a break down, she made a comeback to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, even requiring a medical timeout during the game.
Following her victory, Osaka stated, “I wouldn’t say it’s a huge injury, but I have been struggling with it since the grass season. It’s a pain that lingers and never fully goes away.” During the third set, she managed to hold her serve at 3-4 before taking a brief break for treatment on her left calf from the physiotherapist.
Osaka admitted, “Honestly, I don’t like calling the physio during matches because it makes the opponent think you’re injured, and then it becomes a psychological game.” She went on to win the next three games and secured her spot in the pre-quarterfinals with a decisive fourth match point. She added, “The physio applied Tiger Balm, and I think that helped.”
Reflecting on her performance, Osaka mentioned, “I was being really hard on myself during the third set, but then I thought, just fight for every point. Let’s see if Elise can finish the match on her terms.”
Osaka had previously suffered a right foot injury that forced her to withdraw from the finals against Karolína Muchová in Bad Homburg in June. In the upcoming pre-quarterfinals, she will face the reigning Australian Open champion , with less than 48 hours to recover from her injury.