Naomi Osaka WITHDRAWS from the Australian Open

Two-times champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open, organizers of the season’s first Grand Slam which begins on Jan. 16 have introduced with out elaborating on the explanation.

The Japanese former world primary’s title was on the entry record for the Australian Open however Osaka was not scheduled to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, elevating doubts about her participation within the hardcourt main.

‘Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023,’ the Australian Open tweeted. ‘Dayana Yastremska strikes into the primary draw.’

Osaka is a two-time winner in Melbourne however now hasn’t performed a tennis match for 4 months

Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion, has not performed on the WTA Tour since pulling out of her match in opposition to Beatriz Haddad Maia within the Pan Pacific Open second spherical in Tokyo in September on account of sickness.

Her Instagram has been quiet, however she did lately submit a sequence of photographs from a vacation in Europe with rapper boyfriend Cordae from again in October, whereas he was on tour. 

Her withdrawal comes a day after American seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was dominated out of the Australian Open on account of harm in a double blow to the organisers.

Osaka, who has slipped to 42 on the earth rankings, had taken a break to prioritise her psychological well being after skipping the 2021 French Open and later mentioned that she was battling melancholy.

The 25-year-old’s Melbourne no present will solely additional heighten considerations the four-time grand slam champion might not return to the tennis courtroom in any respect.

Osaka took a psychological well being break after sitting out the 2021 French Open and later revealed she’d been combating melancholy and anxiousness for a number of years.

Osaka lately posted on social media about her vacation in Europe together with her rapper boyfriend, when he was on tour in October. as they noticed the Mona Lisa whereas stopping off in Paris, France

The anticipate Osaka to return to tennis goes on, and he or she’s one other huge title lacking Melbourne

One of the pictures she posted confirmed the pair in Paris, France, posing in entrance of the well-known Mona Lisa portray on the Louvre.

Absences of 2022 Australian Open champion Ash Barty, who selected to retire, in addition to Serena Williams and Roger Federer already imply various the game’s greatest names will play no half within the season-opening slam, a lot to the chagrin of organizers. 

Men’s US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz additionally misses the competitors with a leg harm. 

Osaka’s kind, or lack thereof, has seen her exit within the first spherical of her final three tournaments, together with the ultimate slam of 2022, the US Open, dropping in straight units to Danielle Collins.  

The draw for the Australian Open will happen subsequent Thursday.