Mason, Ohio – National Bank Open finalists Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka have withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open.
After playing in Montreal on Thursday night, it was announced Friday that neither will be no longer in the Cincinnati Championships.
Mboko is an 18-year-old Canadian who won her first WTA career title in front of a family crowd of obsessed with her. According to the Cincinnati Open, Osaka once participated in its first Class 1000 final and was listed as a “schedule”.
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After defeating Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday, Mboko revealed she had a wrist injury in the semifinals and had an MRI earlier that day. Mboko told reporters she is unlikely to play in Cincinnati.
“I just want to take care of my wrists right now, and I think it's just very close, and suddenly I went there and played again, I think it's two days,” Mboko said. “I think I'm just going to sit down and prepare for the upcoming game.”
Both had no seeds at the Cincinnati Open, with Mboko and Osaka both awarded the second round of the performance after reaching the Canadian Open final. Due to the newly expanded Level 1000 format and overlap between the two matches, both would have to play their first round in Cincinnati on Friday.
With their withdrawals, two first round games were added to the Cincinnati Friday schedule, with four lucky losers from the qualifying round. Cristina Bucsa and Yuan Yue replaced Mboko and her goodbye in the draw, with their match winner facing No. 14 seed Diana Shnaider in the second round. Solana Sierra and Iva Jovic replaced Osaka, and their conflict winner will next take the No. 20 seed Linda Noskova.
After Montreal's outstanding performance, Mboko and Osaka are expected to sow seeds at the U.S. Open. Mboko was ranked in the top 300 at the beginning of this year and is now the career-high No. 24. Osaka is currently ranked 25th and has performed the highest since she returned from maternity leave at the beginning of the 2024 season.