As Naomi Osaka walked towards her, Clara Tauson didn’t know what to say.

The Japanese tennis star had just been forced out of the ASB Classic final with injury after one set, meaning that Tauson had won in the most unexpected way. An eerie hush had come over the crowd at the Manuka Doctor arena, while Tauson was also struggling to process what had happened.

“I’ve never been in her position or mine so I was a bit shocked and she was crying,” revealed Tauson. “I wanted to cry because it’s just very emotional because you’re an athlete and you know how hard it is to pull out from a match.

“I’ve been dealing with back problems for many years now, and I know how she’s feeling because you never want to walk away from any match at all, but especially not a final where you won the first set. It’s got to be very difficult.”

Hours after the final – which marked her third title at this level and her first since 2021 – Tauson was still uneasy with the unusual circumstances.

Though proud of her week’s work, where she survived a match point in the second round against Sofia Kenin, eliminated top seed Madison Keys and played singles twice on Saturday after weather disruption, the 22-year-old wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

“It’s still a bit weird,” said Tauson. “I’m trying to focus mostly on the four other matches I played here.

“I’m happy to get the trophy and the title, but obviously not the way I wanted to win. I’m just hoping Naomi’s going to be ready for the Australian Open because she played a great first set [on Sunday].”

Tauson didn’t notice anything was awry until the final game of the set, when she felt Osaka wasn’t serving at “full power”.

“I didn’t know if it was the wind or she had pain,” said Tauson. “When she won the set [6-4] my coach said ‘Something’s wrong with her’ because he could see her [coaching] box.

“He said that ‘I think Patrick Mouratoglou told her to stop playing’ but I don’t know, I didn’t see it and I was thinking I don’t want to hear that. I was really trying to stay focused because you never know if an opponent is going keep playing or not.”

A few minutes after calling the WTA doctor on to court for a check, Osaka pulled the pin, then walked across to congratulate Tauson.

“She didn’t say much,” revealed Tauson. “I was just saying to her that she played great and I was really sorry that it had to end that way. I just said that I was hoping she was going to be ready for the Australian Open.

“She was obviously not feeling great and it’s understandable. She had a long way coming back here and she’s been playing great this week.”

That was apparent from the start, as Osaka raced to a 5-1 lead, with some big serves and crushing returns. Tauson steadied with a couple of tough holds – and a break of her own – to at least get a foothold in the match.

“I felt like I was going to come back and hopefully play a little bit better in the second set, said Tauson. “She was taking everything early and hitting a lot of winners in the first set. I knew I was playing Naomi Osaka. You know that you’re not going to get a big chance, and if you do, you better take it.”

Regardless of the unorthodox finish, Tauson had a brilliant week. She ground out four tough wins and even had success in doubles (two rounds), her first at this level.

“I had a great Asian swing at the end of the year, so I was really looking forward to try to build on that here, and I obviously did,” said Tauson. “It’s looking good but it’s tennis. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Aside from answering one question on court during the trophy ceremony, Osaka did not complete any media commitments on Sunday night, or give an update on her condition. It’s difficult to confirm the nature of the injury but appeared to be an abdominal strain, from observing the consultation with the doctor.

- NZ Herald