Naomi Osaka WITHDRAWS from the Australian Open

Two-time champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open, organizers of the season’s first Grand Slam, which begins on January 16, have announced, without giving any details as to why.

The former Japanese world number one’s name was on the entry list for the Australian Open, but Osaka was not scheduled to play in the warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, raising questions about her participation in the major of hard track.

‘Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023’, the Australian Open tweeted. ‘Dayana Yastremska moves into the main draw.’

Osaka is a two-time winner in Melbourne, but now she hasn’t played a tennis match in four months.

Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion, has not played on the WTA Tour since withdrawing from her match against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September due to illness.

His withdrawal comes a day after seven-time US Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was ruled out of the Australian Open due to injury in a double whammy for organizers.

Osaka, who slipped to 42nd in the world rankings, had taken a break to prioritize her mental health after sitting out the 2021 French Open and later said she was battling depression.

The 25-year-old’s absence from Melbourne will only further raise concerns that the four-time Grand Slam champion may not return to the tennis court.

Osaka took a mental health break after missing the 2021 French Open and later revealed that she had been battling depression and anxiety for several years.

Her Instagram has been silent, but she recently posted a series of photos from a vacation in Europe with her rapper boyfriend. Cordae in October, while on tour.

Osaka recently posted on social media about her vacation in Europe with her rapper boyfriend, when she was on tour in October. when they saw the Mona Lisa while laying over in Paris, France

One of the images he posted showed the couple in Paris, France, posing in front of the famous Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre.

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.

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 draw for the Australian Open will take place next Thursday.