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Australian Open officials ‘struggle’ to find out WHERE two-time champion Naomi Osaka is after her recent European holiday… with organizers ‘quietly resigning’, former world number 1 will NOT participate, 11 days before the Melbourne Slam start
- Organizers reportedly ‘resigned’ to Naomi Osaka not playing in Melbourne
- The former world number 1 is on the entry list but is not believed to be in Australia.
- Osaka has recently returned from a trip to Europe with her rapper boyfriend.
Australian Open officials reportedly don’t know if two-time champion Naomi Osaka will play, and organizers aren’t sure if she’s headed down.
With just 11 days to go before the inaugural Grand Slam in 2023, Osaka, who won the women’s tournament at Melbourne Park in 2019 and 2021, is a question mark for organizers, in what would be a major blow to the women’s draw if she didn’t feature.
Osaka has kept a low profile of late, not playing a game in four months and giving very little indication that she is ramping up her training for Australia.
There are doubts about whether former world number 1 Naomi Osaka will play the Australian Open
Osaka has recently been on vacation in Europe with her boyfriend, since they saw the Mona Lisa
Her Instagram revealed that she recently landed in the United States after a vacation in Europe with her rapper boyfriend. Cordae.
One of the images he posted shows the couple in Paris, France, posing in front of the famous Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre.
A second indicator that she’s not in Australia yet appeared on her Instagram story when she was tagged in a photo taken at a pilates studio in Los Angeles.
Osaka hasn’t played a game in four months and doesn’t seem to be heading to Australia
The Australian Associated Press have reported that while Osaka is listed on the entry list for the women’s singles, organizers are ‘quietly resigned’ to the former world number 1 not playing.
The report adds that some are even wondering if he will ever return to the tennis court.
His absence from taper events in both Adelaide and Hobart has been seen as an indicator of his anticipated absence in Melbourne.
The absences of 2022 Australian Open champion Ash Barty, who has opted to retire, as well as Serena Williams and Roger Federer, already mean several of the sport’s biggest names will sit out the season opener, much to the chagrin of organizers.
She was defeated in the first round of the US Open and is believed to still be out of the US now.
Osaka, now ranked world number 42, has not played since withdrawing from a second-round match in Tokyo in September due to abdominal pain.
Her last win came against Daria Saville in Tokyo, but that was an incomplete match with Aussie Saville suffering a torn ACL.
Osaka’s form, or lack thereof, has seen her exit in the first round of her last three tournaments, including the 2022 Slam final, the US Open, losing in straight sets to Danielle Collins.
The Australian Open draw will take place next Thursday and all eyes are glued to the ticket sheet to see if Osaka officially withdraws.