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Sick Osaka loses to Sakkari, hopes to be fit for Aussie Open
The Straits Times
|January 03, 2026
Naomi Osaka said that she fell “really sick” over Christmas and was not at her best when the world No. 16 suffered a straight-set loss to 52nd-ranked Maria Sakkari at tennis’ United Cup on Jan 2.
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The Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion was seen coughing at times during her 6-4, 6-2 defeat by her Greek opponent at RAC Arena in Perth.
The result gave Greece a 1-0 lead in their Group E clash, before Stefanos Tsitsipas then sealed victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Shintaro Mochizuki shortly after.
“I have been dealing with some health stuff, so I’m kind of just happy to be out here right now,” said Osaka.
“It’s not serious, but I’m not operating at the per cent that I want to be operating at, which kind of sucks, because I had a really good off-season.”
This story is from the January 03, 2026 edition of The Straits Times.
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