Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the upcoming Australian Open. It comes after recent worries over the four-time Grand Slam champion’s tennis future, and if and when she will return to the tour again. The former world No 1 has not competed since September’s Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she played just five minutes of her first-round match before her opponent was forced to retire but pulled with injury before the next round.
Osaka pulled out of the Australian Open on Sunday before qualifying for the first Grand Slam of the year got underway. The tournament announced the news with a tweet but did not disclose the reason for her withdrawal, simply writing: “Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023.”
It comes just days after tournament officials were said to be “quietly resigned” to the fact that their two-time former champion would not be competing this year despite appearing on the initial entry list six weeks before the start of the Open. By opting to withdraw ahead of the qualifying event, the 25-year-old has ensured that Dayana Yastremska will move into the main draw while world No 230 Ekaterina Makarova will get the chance to compete in the qualifying and earn at least £15,000 (AUD$26,000).
While the current world No 42 has given an opportunity to other players with the timing of her withdrawal, it leaves her own tennis future full of uncertainty. Osaka’s last match lasted just minutes when she faced Daria Saville in the first round of the WTA 500 in Tokyo after the Australian tore her ACL at the start of their clash, and the Japanese star pulled out citing illness before she could take to the court for her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia.
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It was initially reported that Osaka had snubbed the Australian summer for Europe after posting a photo dump to Instagram while she joined boyfriend Cordae on his tour, but the trip actually happened in October and the former No 1 has been back in America since, even appearing on Good Moring America and The Late Show earlier this month to promote her children’s book The Way Champs Play.
In what came as good news for fans, the seven-time title winner admitted that she always missed tennis when she spent a long period away from the sport, giving hope that she will still return to competition at some point. “I feel like I’m a very curious person, so I’ve really been grateful to have been given all these avenues to explore, so I’m definitely looking forward to doing a lot of stuff, but I am a tennis player, so, if I don’t play tennis for too long, I get an itch,” she admitted.
But for now, the future seems unclear. Osaka has been candid about her struggles with mental health and pulled out of the 2021 French Open after deciding not to take part in press conferences and receiving backlash as a result. She then skipped Wimbledon and took an indefinite break to protect her wellbeing after exiting the 2021 US Open in tears but returned in time for the 2022 Australian Open, admitting that even she was surprised about how quickly she returned.
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“I think it kind of came throughout this off-season that I had where I felt like I wanted to come back to play tennis. Usually it feels a bit automatic, like we as tennis players have the little break, then we immediately start the off-season again,” she explained 12 months ago.
“For me, I came back when I wanted to come back. I just felt like there are situations where I previously would get upset. But at this point in my life, like, I’m here because I want to be here and because I find that it’s fun for me. Might as well enjoy it while I still can.”
After starting 2022 with a WTA 250 in Melbourne and the Australian Open, Osaka played nine more tournaments for the season with her best result coming at the Miami WTA 1000, where she reached the final. The 25-year-old has since been busy with her off-court endeavours, including her sports management agency Evolve with calls Nick Kyrgos a client and recently signed WTA No 2 Ons Jabeur.
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