In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for Naomi Osaka. The Japanese star gave her all but had to pull out midway after the second set against Coco Gauff at the China Open with an apparent injury. Osaka even led 4-3 in the second set after winning the first but her movement was hampered as Gauff ran off with the set to level the match. Subsequently, Osaka found it difficult to continue and as she withdrew, it left fans heartbroken.

This isn’t the first time that emotions have flown high when Osaka and Gauff have faced off against each other. Back in 2019 during their first clash at the US Open, Gauff said, “I was crying. She was crying. Everybody was crying. She was crying and she won. I was like, ‘You won the match.’”

This goes to show that both Gauff and Osaka have a lot of admiration for each other. Despite their intriguing rivalry, there is no shortage of respect as Gauff wished Osaka a speedy recovery after she pulled out of the match. Nonetheless, it left fans dejected as brakes were pulled on a thrilling encounter.

Fans left saddened as Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff’s encounter comes to an abrupt halt

It was one of the most anticipated matches of the year as Gauff and Osaka were squaring off after months. However, the match saw a saddening end after thrilling action in the first two sets. Thus, one fan was extremely dejected with the end result, as he wrote on X, “My dawtuh help her sista out it really wasn’t supposed to end like this.”

However, there was an amazing moment after Osaka decided to withdraw. Gauff carried Osaka’s kitbag into the changing room in what was a great sight of sportsmanship. While one X user rued the ending, he was impressed with Gauff’s act and said, “Brutal luck for Naomi Osaka who was forced to retire due to injury at 3-6 6-4 against Coco Gauff after playing some of her best tennis of the year in Beijing. Still, lovely scenes at the end as Gauff offered to carry Osaka’s bags off the court.”

Soon after Osaka shook hands with Gauff after deciding to quit the match, social media was abuzz, as the fans were gutted. They didn’t want to see the match end midway. Sympathizing with Osaka, a fan echoed the voice of thousands, saying, “naomi retired… what a disappointing finish.” It was a see-saw battle with constant momentum shifts, something that was exciting to watch for the fans. As a result, another fan expressed his disappointment and revealed, “Not a mid match retirement. Aw man.”

Amid all this disappointment, one of the fans pointed out the superior stats of Osaka throughout the match. For the record, Osaka won more than 60% points on her first serve and converted 5 out of the 6 break point opportunities. The fan commented, “the stats… a good match from Noachii overall but a shame she had to retire.”

While it was a disappointing end for Osaka, Gauff would feel lucky to advance to the quarterfinals despite not being at her best. She will face Ukraine’s Yulia Starodubtsewa in the last eight at the China Open.