Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open, which is the first Grand Slam of the year, reports CNN. No reason was given for her decision not to compete at the event.
The organizers of the tournament confirmed Osaka’s withdrawal on Twitter.
“Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023,” the Australian Open tweeted.
A winner of the tournament at Melbourne Park in 2019 and 2021, Osaka has not participated in any match since September, when she withdrew from the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan citing abdominal pain. In 2021, she withdrew from the French Open after being fined $15,000 for not participating in news conferences for mental health reasons. “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media,” she shared at the time.
Currently, she is ranked No. 42 in women's singles by the WTA, down from No. 13 this time last year and No. 3 in January 2021.
Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska will move to her place.
Osaka’s announcement follows Carlos Alcaraz who announced that he would not compete in the tournament because of a leg injury as well as Venus Williams who withdrew because of an injury.
Despite her struggles to return to top form on the court, Osaka is thriving as a businesswoman. Recently, Forbes named her the world's highest-paid female athlete last year, with an estimated $59.2 million in 2022 income.
