Significant Withdrawals at the Cincinnati Open: Mboko and Osaka Withdraw
The Cincinnati Open edition suffers significant absences with the withdrawal of the National Bank Open finalists, Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka. Following their participation in the Montreal final on Thursday night, it was confirmed that both tennis players will not compete in the Cincinnati tournament. Mboko, the 18-year-old Canadian, who won the first WTA title of her career at a 1000-level event, attributed her decision to an injury in her left wrist. Osaka, who played her first 1000-level final since 2022, cited a “schedule change” as the reason for her withdrawal, according to the Cincinnati Open organization.Both Mboko and Osaka, who were not seeded at the Cincinnati Open, had received direct passes to the second round due to their performance in the Canadian tournament. Due to the length of the 1000-level tournaments and the overlap between both events, they would have had to play their first-round match on Friday in Cincinnati. With their withdrawals, two first-round matches have been added to Friday’s schedule in Cincinnati, featuring four lucky losers from the qualifying rounds. Cristina Bucsa and Yuan Yue replace Mboko and her direct pass in the draw, and the winner of their match will face the 14th seed, Diana Shnaider, in the second round. Solana Sierra and Iva Jovic take Osaka’s place, and the winner of their match will face the 20th seed, Linda Noskova. It is expected that both Mboko and Osaka will be seeded at the US Open following their outstanding performances in Montreal. Mboko, who started the year outside the top 300, is now ranked number 24, the highest of her career. Osaka is currently ranked number 25, her best position since returning from maternity leave at the beginning of the 2024 season.I just want to take care of my wrist a little bit at the moment, and I think it’s too early to go there and play again in, like, two days. I think I’m going to miss that tournament and prepare for the next ones.
Victoria Mboko
