Naomi Osaka looks to be fit for the Australian Open, having recovered from an abdominal injury that threatened to derail her preparation for the first major of the year.

Osaka made it to the final of the ASB Classic as part of her preparation for the Australian Open, but the four-time grand slam champion had to retire through injury, handing victory to Clara Tauson in a walkover.

The 27-year-old immediately went for an MRI scan to see the extent of her injury and, while she did not go into much detail, she suggested she was fit to face Caroline Garcia in the first round.

“I’m normally a really honest person but I probably won’t answer your question honestly,” she said.

“The MRI, it wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad at the same time.

“I’m pretty optimistic about playing my match, I mean for sure I’m going to play my match, and I’ve been practising pretty well for the two days that I’ve been here.”

Osaka comes into the tournament having won it on two previous occasions in 2019 and 2021, but she faces stiff competition this year with Aryna Sabalenka looking to become only the sixth player in the Open Era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.

The decision to pull out of the Auckland final was one that Osaka struggled with, but she says it was the correct choice as she prioritises the Melbourne Park slam.

“It just sucked because I felt like my body wasn’t keeping up with what my mind wanted it to do, and obviously I was very concerned about my chances playing here, so I felt like the best decision was to pull out, even though I really didn’t want to,” said Osaka.

Osaka has not made it past the third round of the Australian Open since she last won it in 2021, having been absent on maternity leave in 2023 and beaten in the first round in 2024.

She suggested the mental toll of pulling out in Auckland was exacerbated by how she had performed while rebuilding her career over the last year.

“At that moment it was an accumulation of losing in first rounds in 2024 and wanting and hoping to get to a final, and then obviously when I did, I couldn’t play anymore,” she said.

“I’m strangely over it now. Like, 30 minutes after that happened, I was over it because I felt like I’m playing really well, and I can only keep continuing, and hopefully I’ll get to another final.”