Out of WTA Finals with shoulder injury, Naomi Osaka remains optimistic

Naomi Osaka says the shoulder injury that led to her withdrawal from the WTA Finals should only require rest to heal.

Osaka told press at the event, in Shenzhen, that she began experiencing the problem at Beijing, and had avoided practicing her serving. (A clip of Osaka's practice in Shenzhen can be seen above.) She defeated Petra Kvitova in three sets in her opening round-robin match at the WTA Finals, though the injury began troubling her again, and the pain increased the following day.

"Felt better, came here, then I played my match. I felt it immediately," Osaka was quoted as saying. "When I woke up,  it was throbbing and stuff."

But the 22-year-old from Japan, ranked third in the world, indicated the injury should not sideline her beyond this tournament, which was her final event of the season.

"It doesn't feel like it's anything more serious than muscular," Osaka said. "It's just a little bit painful. Definitely I don't think it's something that I would immediately need surgery for."