Profile photo of Naomi Osaka© AFP
Organizers said two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka on Sunday pulled out of the year’s opening Grand Slam just over a week before it began. “Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at AO2023,” the tournament announced on Twitter. No reason for the Japanese star’s withdrawal has been given. It was another big blow for the tournament after US Open champion and world number one Carlos Alcaraz also withdrew on Friday because of a problem with his right foot.
American veteran Venus Williams will also miss after picking up an injury at the Auckland Classic last week.
Melbourne champion in 2019 and 2021, Osaka has not played a single game since pulling out of the tournament in Tokyo in September with stomachaches and dropping to 42nd in the world rankings.
The previous four-time Grand Slam champion has spoken about her struggles with her mental health and spent 2022 staying outside the top 10, enduring first-round defeats in both France and the US. Extend. She withdrew from Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury.
Speaking at the Pan Pacific Open in September, she admitted she’s been through “many ups and downs” in 2022.
“This year hasn’t been the best year for me but I’ve learned a lot about myself,” she said.
“Life has many ups and downs, and this year has had many ups and downs, but overall I’m quite satisfied with where I am right now.”
Reports in Australia last week said Tennis Australia had been unable to verify Osaka’s whereabouts.
Her social media accounts indicate that she traveled in Europe with rapper Cordae, her never-seeming boyfriend.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the aggregate feed.)
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