- I'm sorry to have to withdraw from today's final due to injury. I stretched the back of my left thigh in the second set tiebreak yesterday and it has not gotten better overnight. It has been an emotional week for me and I want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support, says Osaka from Flushing Meadows in New York, where the US Open will also begin next week.

Azarenka's first WTA title in four years

Osaka, who grew up in the United States with a father from Haiti and a Japanese mother, first intended to withdraw from the semifinals as a protest against racial discrimination in the United States. However, she was persuaded by the WTA and the American Tennis Association, who made a joint protest by making Thursday completely game-free. Osaka's injury means that Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, took her first victory on the WTA Tour since 2016.

Osaka has not commented on what the injury means for the US Open, where she won 2018, which begins on Monday.