Two-time champion Naomi Osaka has confirmed she will miss the Australian Open, adding her name to a growing list of notable dropouts. The Australian Open, which starts on January 16, has already lost several notable players, including world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew on Saturday with an ankle injury, and former finalist Simona Halep.
Organizers confirmed in a tweet on Sunday that Japan’s Osaka, champion of the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, will not play in Melbourne, but the reasons have not been officially disclosed.
“Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. She will be missed at #AO2023,” the tweet read.
gg.didomi.doWhenConsent(!window.didomiBypass, ‘c:twitterwi-wUmBnnKy’, function () {
var x = document.createElement(‘script’);
x.setAttribute(“type”,”text/javascript”);
x.setAttribute(“src”, “//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”);
x.setAttribute(“charset”, “utf-8”);
$(“.twitter-tweet”).closest( “span” ).append(x);
});
The 25-year-old Osaka’s ranking has fallen to 47th and she has not played since September after withdrawing in the second round in Tokyo. She won her first round match at that tournament when Australian Daria Saville withdrew after one game with a knee injury. Osaka has not won a complete match since May and lost in the first round of her three previous tournaments, including the US Open, where she was a two-time champion in 2018 and 2020.
She posted photos on social media last week of a trip to Europe with her boyfriend, American rapper Cordae, and it was deemed unlikely that she would play in the first Grand Slam of the season.
Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska was promoted to the main draw in her place.
Osaka took a break for mental health reasons after missing Roland Garros in 2021 and later said she had struggled with depression and anxiety for several years.
His absence in Melbourne adds to the uncertainty about if or when he will resume his career.
Osaka’s loss follows that of world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew on Saturday with an ankle injury. Former finalist Simona Halep will also not be able to play this year and Venus Williams also returned as a wild card after sustaining an injury while training in Auckland.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
