Injury scare for Naomi Osaka ahead of Australian Open

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Naomi Osaka's fitness for the Australian Open is in question after the four-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 suffered an apparent abdominal injury Sunday while playing the final of a WTA tournament in Auckland.

Osaka had won the first set of the final 6-4 against Denmark's Clara Tauson when she spoke to her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the chair umpire and a tour trainer before deciding to withdraw.

The nature of her injury wasn't immediately clear but seemed to be abdominal, not the back injury she suffered at the China Open in October and which ended her 2024 season.

Osaka was in tears as she sat waiting for the trainer. She then left the court to a subdued ovation as spectators before returning for the prizegiving.

“I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city," Osaka said. "I had a lot of fun playing here and I’m really sorry about how it ended but I hope that you enjoyed the tennis that we did play. I’m just really grateful to be here.”

Osaka had led 5-1 with two breaks of serve when she began to look tighter, with less power in her serve. She managed to take out the first set before indicating she couldn't continue.

Osaka returned to tennis at the start of 2024 after a lengthy break following the birth of her daughter Shai.

The Auckland final was her first since her return to tennis and had she won, it would have been her first title of any kind since the 2021 Australian Open.

Osaka's injury came after a good week in Auckland. As the tournament unfolded and she grew stronger, the four-time Grand Slam winner and former No. 1 had spoken of how childbirth and her absence for the tour had changed her perspective and hardened her mindset.

“There are moments where it’s really difficult, where I do get down on myself,” Osaka said earlier this week. “But then I just kind of realized I was pregnant not so long ago and I just really wanted the opportunity to play again.

“Now I’m finally here and I’m putting up really good fights and I hope that I can keep continuing this way.”

Osaka was the seventh seed in Auckland on her entry ranking of 57 and won her way to the final, beating Lina Glushko of Israel, Julia Grabher of Austria and Hailey Baptiste and Alicia Parks of the United States, dropping only one set.

“I want to take every match seriously and if someone does beat me, I want it to be the fight of their life,” Osaka said. “I want to build that reputation within the community of tennis. I just hope that I can grow to fight for everything.”

“Last year it was really difficult to get that mindset and you could see that in a lot of my matches. The tennis was there throughout the year but it was more of a mindset thing and now here I think I’m ready for the battles.”

Osaka said her absence from tennis after childbirth had given her a new perspective.

“I feel like a veteran and also a newbie at the same time,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been out of the game periodically to the point where I accept the fact that I’m playing new people because they are new people that come into the game every year and obviously I was out for a year and some change.

“I’m very curious the type of people that these young players are. I feel a lot of responsibility and I also feel like I haven’t been the greatest role model at times. But I’m also, I guess, learning and trying my best every year.”

“I do feel a little sad that my great role model is gone, which is Serena and, of course, Venus. And I hope that I’m able to play as many years as them and build a really good foundation for the sport.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Naomi Osaka of Japan is emotional after forfeiting her match against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the finals singles match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts after forfeiting her match against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the finals singles match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

Clara Tauson of Denmark poses with trophy after Naomi Osaka of Japan withdrew from the women's singles final match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

Naomi Osaka of Japan is emotional after forfeiting her match against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the finals singles match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

Naomi Osaka of Japan is emotional after forfeiting her match against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the finals singles match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

Naomi Osaka of Japan leaves the court after forfeiting her match against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the finals singles match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament at Manuka Doctor Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)

HONOLULU (AP) — A 3-year-old boy who died Monday was the fourth person to succumb to injuries from a massive explosion of fireworks on New Year's Eve at a Honolulu home, and a doctor said six others faced long recoveries in Arizona, where they were sent to be treated for severe burns.

The blast also killed three women and injured more than 20 people, many of whom have burns over most of their bodies.

The Honolulu medical examiner identified the toddler as Cassius Ramos-Benigno. The cause and manner of death were listed as pending.

The U.S. military flew six of the injured to Phoenix for treatment on Saturday because Hawaii’s lone burn center doesn’t have enough capacity to care for all the victims.

After the disaster, Hawaii's leaders intensified their oft-repeated calls to crack down on the state's vast illegal fireworks trade with stepped-up enforcement and greater penalties.

The six taken to Arizona are all in their 20s or 30s and have extensive burns, Dr. Kevin Foster, the director of the Arizona Burn Center, said at a news conference streamed online.

The person with the least has burns over 45% of their body while the most has burns over nearly 80% of their body. Each of the six is using a breathing tube and most are in medically induced comas.

Foster said they are all doing “very well” and have good vital signs. But it will be six months to a year before any are able to return to anything resembling a normal life, Foster said. Four patients will likely have to remain intubated and in a coma for months, he said.

The patients will likely suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, Foster said, adding the burn center has two full-time psychologists and a psychiatrist hospital on staff to help them.

“There’s something uniquely and particularly horrifying about being burned, especially from this type of injury,” Foster said. “And we anticipate that all of these patients are going to have some adjustment issues.”

Many required emergency surgery before leaving Hawaii and a number had traumatic injuries in addition to burns, because of the explosions and resulting projectiles, he said.

The Arizona Burn Center operated on all six on Sunday, performed three other surgeries Monday and plan three others Tuesday. By then, doctors should be done with removing burns and will progress to closing wounds and grafting skin, Foster said. Infections are the most dangerous and feared complication for burn patients, he said, while also predicting all would likely get them at some point.

“It’s just the way burn injury works, especially when you have large percent-of-total-body-surface-area burns like this,” Foster said.

The scars, and the physical limitations that come with them, will likely be the biggest thing that the patients have to deal with and are what will make these wounds lifelong injuries, he said.

Foundations affiliated with the burn center and the hospital it is a part of, Valleywise Health, are providing housing for patient relatives. Some burn center employees have even volunteered their homes, Foster said.

Hawaii’s diverse population has long celebrated New Year’s with fireworks, but in recent years, professional-grade aerial explosives have been growing in popularity even though they are illegal for amateurs. Neighborhoods across Oahu light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets in front of their homes.

Honolulu authorities say a person attending a party lit a bundle of aerial fireworks, which fell on its side and shot explosives into two crates that contained additional aerials. Video of the resulting explosion shows a rapid series of blasts shooting fireworks in the air and around the front of a house.

Hawaii’s counties have varying rules on other types of fireworks. On Oahu, the state’s most populous island, only certain types of firecrackers are allowed to be used during specific timeframes on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Fourth of July. However, many residents set off fireworks of all kinds year-round.

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.

People walk past the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman sweeps debris from a driveway across the street from the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Evelyn Paguirigan points to broken windows at her home across the street from where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people in Honolulu, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman walks in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman stands in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A damaged vehicle is seen near the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Fireworks debris is seen outside the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)