Clara Tauson of Denmark won her third career Hologic WTA Tour title, and first since 2021, after former World No.1 Naomi Osaka of Japan retired from their ASB Classic final on Sunday due to an abdominal injury.
Osaka held off a late Tauson comeback to clinch the first set 6-4, but the four-time Grand Slam champion took an immediate medical timeout after converting her second set point. After consulting with the trainer, Osaka ended play.
"It’s not the way you want to win any match, and especially not the final," Tauson said after the match. "I felt like I had some more tennis to show today."
It was a quick conclusion to the first meeting between two powerful players, both of whom had ended droughts just to get into this final. Osaka was playing in her first final since 2022, while Tauson had waited even longer, contesting her first tour-level final since 2021.
Tauson is the first player from Denmark to win this title. Her fellow Dane, former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, was a two-time runner-up at this event in 2015 and 2018.
"I’m looking forward to going to Australia," Tauson said. "Hopefully I can back [this] up with some great results there. It’s definitely a nice start to the season with the title, it’s my first one since 2021, so it’s been a while for me."
Tauson rebound continues: Former Junior World No.1 Tauson had a breakthrough season on tour in 2021, where she won two titles and reached an additional final. But injuries over the last few years curtailed her progress and she slid outside of the Top 100 in 2022.
Tauson rebounded last year, making her first Grand Slam Round of 16 at Roland Garros, playing the Olympic Games and pulling herself back into the Top 50.
Tauson had an eventful trip into this week's final. She saved a match point in her second-round win over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, then notched two wins on Saturday to make the final, including a rain-interrupted quarterfinal upset of No.1 seed Madison Keys.
Final breakdown: In the final, it was Osaka who got off to a hotter start. She used her power game to great effect, drawing errors from Tauson and breaking the Dane twice en route to 5-1.
But Tauson methodically pulled her way back into the match. Tauson saved a set point at 5-3 with a forehand winner, eventually winning three games in a row and pulling all the way back to 5-4.
Osaka was able to halt Tauson's comeback, slamming a forehand winner of her own to close out the one-set lead. But Osaka was showing signs of discomfort during the break between sets, and the former No.1 decided to pull out of the match.
There were still four impressive wins for Osaka during the tournament, in her first Auckland appearance since her quarterfinal debut in 2017. This week, Osaka reached her first WTA semifinal and final since she gave birth to daughter Shai in 2023.
Double champions: No.2 seeds Jiang Xinyu and Wu Fang-Hsien took home the doubles title after defeating Sabrina Santamaria and Aleksandra Krunic 6-3, 6-4.
