Aussie Daria Saville suffered a nasty knee injury during her clash with Naomi Osaka in Tokyo on Tuesday.
It was a tragic injury that led the Australian affectionately known as ‘Dasha’ to withdraw from her Pan Pacific Open clash with the Japanese star.
The world No.55 yelled out “my knee” as she fell to the ground in agonising pain.
It was an encouraging sight to see Saville walk off the tennis court. But the pain was too much for her to continue playing and risk further damage.
Savile knew something was not right. And scans on Wednesday confirmed her worst fears: she had torn her anterior crucial ligament which will sideline her for a while. This is the second time Saville has injured her knee, after previously having injured her ACL in 2013.
Usually when an athlete suffers an ACL injury, it can take up to 12 months to recover.
It’s a brutal blow for the Australian who has been plagued with injuries throughout her career.
The 28-year-old Australian had climbed up the ranks this year, having gone from outside the top 600 to No.55 after impressive form this year. It’s a heartbreaking way for her comeback to end as she had made significant strides this year, returning to her best form.
Osaka, the former world No.1, showed a lot of compassion towards her rival.
She ran over, crossed the tennis court and knelt down next to her injured opponent with towels and made sure Saville was looked after by the medical professionals. It was a great show of sportsmanship.
And even after the match, Osaka showed support for her injured opponent when she took to social media to send a video message of support to the Aussie.
“Hi Daria, it’s Naomi – I just wanted to wish you the best,” she said.
“I hope you’re doing better.
“I just wanted to let you know you’re one of the funniest people on the tour, and I still remember all of the nice things that you said to me at the French [Open] this year – so I want you to know that I’m wishing you the best.
“I hope that it’s not a major injury at all and you’ll bounce back, because I know that’s what you’re good at.”
In a world where so much negativity happens around us, it was lovely to see Osaka show true sportsmanship and empathy. Her care and compassion towards her fallen rival was a sight to behold.
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