Osaka reaches first Washington quarterfinal as Krueger retires with right ankle injury
Naomi Osaka advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Citi DC Open for the first time Wednesday night after Ashlyn Krueger retired with a right ankle injury while trailing 6-3, 3-1.
Washington: Scores | Order of play | Draws
Krueger took a medical timeout down 4-1 in the first set to receive treatment on the ankle, but she appeared limited as the match moved into the second. She stopped after 53 minutes, her first mid-match retirement since the Adelaide quarterfinals in January 2025.
For Osaka, the win sends her into a third straight quarterfinal, following her run to the Bad Homburg final and the Wimbledon quarterfinals. She is now 1-1 against Krueger at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level.
"It's kind of funny because I thought leaving grass courts, I'd be so happy to touch a hard court again, and then my first practice on a hard court, I was a little bit, like, I might like grass a lot better," Osaka said in her post-match press conference. "It did take some adjusting. It did take some getting used to.
"But I think in that first practice back on a hard court, I finally realized why people said my game could suit a grass court because everything is a lot faster."
But historically, this late-season Hard-Court Swing has been where Osaka has done significant damage, and she showed flashes of that form Wednesday night. Despite landing only 38% of her first serves, she won 80% of those points and backed it up with a 72% mark behind her second serve. She also won 77% of points off Krueger's second serve.
Osaka finished with an 11-5 winner-to-unforced-error ratio and did not face a break point.
She moves on to face Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who upset No. 8 seed Emma Navarro in three sets earlier in the day. They've met once before, in the Miami first round in 2024, with Osaka winning in straight sets.
A second win over the Italian on Friday would put her into the semifinals, where No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina or Alexandra Eala could await.
