The Australian Open has been abandoned by two-time winner Naomi Osaka, the competition's administrators revealed on Sunday without going into further detail.
Naomi Osaka pulled out of the Australian Open. At #AO2023, we will miss her, the Australian Open tweeted.
Osaka, a former world No. 1, was not slated to compete in warm-up events in Adelaide or Hobart, which led some to wonder if she will play in the opening grand slam of the year.
Following an incident in August 2021 where she was visibly upset and stressed while addressing the media during an obligatory news conference at Roland Garros, the 25-year-old took some time away from playing competitive tennis and made several highly publicized disclosures about her struggles with mental health.
Following her maiden major victory in 2018, Osaka withdrew from the French Open that year and disclosed she had "suffered long spells of depression."
Osaka's most recent season has been disrupted by illness and injuries: in January of last year, she withdrew from the Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament owing to an abdominal injury, and in September, she withdrew from the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open due to an illness.
She also withdrew from her opening match at the Canadian Open due to a back issue, missing the full grass court season owing to an Achilles problem.
Osaka joins a number of noteworthy players who won't be competing in the Australian Open, which gets underway on January 16.
Men's No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday that he is out with a leg injury. Since winning the 2022 US Open in September and becoming the youngest world No. 1 in men's tennis history, the 19-year-maiden old's grand slam would have been the competition.
Venus Williams, a wild card, has also pulled out of the women's singles tournament because of an injury, the competition's administrators revealed on Twitter on Saturday.
Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked woman in the world, and British player Emma Raducanu's fitness are also in doubt following Swiatek's withdrawal from the Adelaide International 2 competition on Saturday due to a right shoulder issue.
According to the organizers, Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine will replace Osaka as the primary draw.
[zombify_post]
0 Comments