CNN
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Champion twice Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Australian Open, tournament organizers announced on Sunday, without explaining why.
“Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023,” the Australian Open tweeted.
Former world No. 1 Osaka was not on the roster to compete in the warm-up tournaments in Adelaide or Hobart, sparking speculation that she would take part in her first major tournament of the year.
The 25-year-old has taken a break from competitive tennis and made some well-publicized revelations about her struggles with mental health after an incident in August 2021, when she was visibly stressed and emotional while speaking to the media during a mandatory press conference at Roland Garros.
Osaka later withdrew from that year’s French Open and revealed that she had “suffered prolonged bouts of depression” since winning her first major championship in 2018.
Osaka’s most recent season was marred by injury and illness: she withdrew from the Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament last January with an abdominal injury and withdrew from Tokyo’s Pan Pacific Open in September due to illness. .
She also missed the entire season on grass due to an Achilles injury and withdrew from the opening match of the Canadian Open due to a back injury.
Osaka joins a notable absentee list at the Australian Open, which begins January 16.
No. 1 male in the world Carlos Alcaraz out with a leg injury, he said on Friday. The tournament was supposed to be the 19-year-old’s first Grand Slam since winning the 2022 US Open in September and becoming the youngest world No. 1 in men’s tennis history.
wild card Venus Williams also withdrew from the women’s singles event due to injury, tournament organizers announced on Twitter Saturday.
Meanwhile, there are question marks about England’s suitability Emma Raducanu and world No 1 Iga Swiatek after she withdrew from the Adelaide International 2 tournament on Saturday due to a right shoulder injury.
The organizers said that Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska will enter the main draw instead of Osaka.
