ASB Classic winner Clara Tauson reflects on fizzer final

Monday, 6 January 2025, 7:29 pm
Article: RNZ

RNZ Sport

Danish fifth seed Clara Tauson lifted the ASB Classic women's singles title in beautifully sunny conditions in front of a packed house on Sunday. But she understandably wasn't quite as happy as she would normally be with a tournament win when facing media after the final.

That's because she had won the match after Naomi Osaka abruptly pulled out injured, after the Japanese former world number one had won an entertaining first set 6-4.

"It's still a bit weird. I'm trying to focus mostly on the four other matches I played here," said Tauson.

"I was a bit sad. I've been dealing with back problems for many years now, and I know how she's feeling, because you never want to walk away from any match at all, but especially not a final where you won the first set."

Tauson said she noticed Osaka's serve wasn't as powerful towards the end of the set, but wasn't sure if it was an injury or just the wind.

"When she won the set my coach said 'Something's wrong with her' because he could see her [coaches] box. He said that 'I think he told her to stop playing' but I don't know, I didn't see it and I was thinking I don't want to hear that. I was really trying to stay focused because you never know if an opponent is going keep playing or not", Tauson said.

"It's obviously not a nice feeling to win a title this way… she was crying, I wanted to cry because, it's just very emotional, because you're an athlete, and you know how hard it is to pull out from a match."

Still, Tauson has plenty to feel proud about overall. She survived a match point scare against Sofia Kenin in the second round, then knocked out top seed Madison Keys in a match that went over two days and had won a semi-final later on the same day it had finished. Even in the final, she'd shown grit and determination to battle back from 5-1 down.

However, the final had been built heavily around Osaka's presence, with the crowd left bemused and quiet during the trophy presentation. It wasn't helped by the fact that it wasn't revealed what specific injury she had suffered, as she did not do a press conference post-match.

The result does still stand as Osaka's best finish in a WTA event since winning the US Open in 2021, with the victory for tournament organisers being if she chooses to return next year.

So that wraps the women's week at the ASB Classic, with the attention shifting to the men and the women moving on to Melbourne. Tauson did have some kind parting words for her opponent, knowing full well that tennis will be richer for it if Osaka regains the form that saw her win four Grand Slams.

"I hope Naomi's going to be ready for the Australian Open, she played a great first set."

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

© Scoop Media

RNZ

New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.

Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.

Contact RNZ

• Website - www.radionz.co.nz
• Twitter - @rnz_news
• Facebook
• Link - Contact RNZ