It was an exciting week in Bad Homburg for Naomi Osaka. Her first career grass-court final, her best result on the surface since Nottingham in 2018, and the kind of momentum that made her one of the more compelling names heading into Wimbledon. It finally came to an end in the second game of the second set when she walked to the net, spoke with her camp, and retired at 1-6, 0-1 down against Karolina Muchova. 

The right foot issue first came up at 3-0 in the first set, when Osaka called for a medical timeout, and after being treated for a long time on the court, she chose to continue. The outcome of the game was not affected by the decision to play on. By the time the first set concluded, Muchova had broken four times and conceded nothing on serve. 

The Czech was hitting forehand winners on either side of the court and was constantly changing pace with slices and drop shots, forcing Osaka to move laterally with a foot he couldn’t stretch. The numbers reflected it: Osaka’s first-serve win percentage, which had sat consistently around 80 percent across the week, dropped to 53 percent in the final. The four-time Grand Slam champion was not her best before the injury creased her, and she could not have been her best while managing it.  

After Muchova took the first game of the second set, Osaka chose not to continue, handing the Czech the Bad Homburg title. This was the correct thing to do, and Wimbledon is the obvious reason.

The main draw begins on Monday, one day away. Since the 2021 Australian Open, the Japanese pro has not secured a tour-level victory, and her appearance in the Bad Homburg final marked her first attempt on a natural surface in five years. The title went to Karolina Muchova instead, which is a footnote. The right foot, and what it means for the next fortnight at the All England Club, is the story.

Osaka pays her gratitude to the Bad Homburg crowd

The retirement did not dampen the warmth of what followed. Naomi Osaka spoke to the crowd after conceding the title and made a point of addressing both the atmosphere and her opponent directly. 

“I just want to say thank you everyone that came to the match. I apologize for not being able to finish, but this atmosphere was incredible throughout the whole week,” she said. 

The apology was characteristic. Osaka has been adamant that it is a relationship with a crowd that is most important to her; the walk-off without a complete finish was not how she wanted the fortnight to end.

Her words for Muchova were equally genuine. “Congratulations Karolina, you’re one of the coolest girls on tour and it’s always really fun to play you, so congratulations for an incredible tournament and I hope you have the best of luck in Wimbledon as well.” 

Karolina Muchova’s title in Bad Homburg was her second of the year. She snapped her long title-winning drought with a Masters trophy in February at the Doha Open by defeating Victoria Mboko in the finals. She is having a dreamy season with a 29-8 win-loss ratio. The 29-year-old will enter Wimbledon with a grass title in her bag, even though the final was not the way she would have wanted to win. 

Despite the withdrawal, this week is still a marker for Naomi Osaka. Heat is not an issue for the former world No. 1, which is causing concerns for most of the players on the tour. She was even feeling good about her movement in this tournament on the surface. The five games leading up to it, whether it be the movement, the serve percentages, or the victory over Elise Mertens and Ekaterina Alexandrova, the grass just had never seen that from her before. Now the only important thing is whether the right foot can take her there to Wimbledon on Monday.