Clarity: Naomi Osaka will also be absent from the Australian Open
Naomi Osaka will definitely miss the Australian Open. However, the reasons for the cancellation remain unclear - and the current condition of the Japanese woman in general.
by SID/tennisnet
last edit: Jan 08, 2023, 03:48 pm
The Australian Open will take place without four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka. As the organizers announced about a week before the start, the Japanese tennis player withdrew her participation. "We will miss them at #AO2023," it said on Twitter. The reason for the cancellation of the 25-year-old, who won the tournament in 2019 and 2021, remained open in the statement.
In the past few days it has become known that Tennis Australia has not been able to determine Osaka's current whereabouts. In the past few weeks, she has repeatedly appeared on social media alongside her friend, the rapper Cordae in Europe.
Osaka with a long break
Osaka has not competed in a WTA competition since withdrawing from a tournament in Tokyo due to abdominal pain last September, and the former leader has slipped to 42nd in the world rankings. She had previously failed in the first round of the French Open and the US Open. Osaka had already spoken publicly about mental problems in 2021 and paused until the Olympic Games in their home country.
Naomi Osaka has won the Australian Open twice in her career. At the beginning of 2019, at the age of 21, Osaka had won the US and Australian Opens in a row. In 2021, the Japanese triumphed again in Melborune. Since then, the 25-year-old has had problems on and off the pitch, and Osaka has rarely been able to constantly bring her full potential to the pitch. In view of the cryptic cancellation, the concern about the condition of the tennis star also increases.
On Saturday, the four-time Australian Open winner Venus Williams (42), despite her wildcard, announced her resignation due to an unspecified injury. In addition, former world number one Simona Halep (Romania) is suspended after a positive doping test. For men, world number one Carlos Alcaraz announced his cancellation on Friday, the Spaniard is missing due to a muscle injury.