Naomi Osaka revealed that she is managing a “nagging” Achilles injury at the 2026 US Open. The two-time champion required a medical timeout during her 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win against Elise Mertens on Saturday night in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Not only did Osaka do battle with Mertens in a thrilling three-setter, she did so while fighting through a persistent left Achilles problem that prompted her to call the physio midway through the third set.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a big injury, but it’s been something that I’ve been dealing with since grass season,” Osaka said after her third-round victory. “It's always this nagging thing, and it's never really gone away.”
It was a right foot injury that forced Osaka, the No. 13 seed at this year’s US Open, to retire from the championship match against Karolina Muchova at Bad Homburg in late June, just two days before the start of Wimbledon. On Saturday night, Osaka took a medical timeout after she held serve for 3-4 in the third set, with all the attention during the three-minute period on her left calf area.
“Honestly, I really hate calling physios during matches, because, aside from the obvious, I feel like it just kind of makes the opponent think you're injured, and then it's this whole psychological thing,” Osaka said.
Despite the reluctance, the decision to call for the medical break helped turn the match back in Osaka’s favor as she won three straight games after being down a break in the third set, then finally secured the win on her fourth match point.
“I mean, she rubbed Tiger Balm on it, and I guess that helped,” Osaka said.
What also helped was a change in mindset on the court, being more aggressive and challenging Mertens to come up with the goods after the Belgian got up a break in the third.
“In the third set, I was just being really overly critical, and then it got to a point where I was just like, ‘OK, just fight for everything,’” Osaka explained. “See if [Elise] is going to close it out on her terms. Like, I started pushing a lot, because I wanted to see if she had the guts to hit winners and go for it.”
Osaka had more guts going for her shots at the end, hitting three winners (two forehands, one backhand) during the final game of the match.
In less than 48 hours, Osaka will have to recover in time for the challenge of reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.
