Naomi Osaka pulls out of Australian Open as concerns grow over tennis' future

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the upcoming Australian Open. It comes after recent concerns over the four-time Grand Slam champion's tennis future, and if and when she will return to the tour. The former world No. 1 has not competed since September's Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she played just five minutes of her first-round match before her opponent was forced to retire but injured before next round.

Osaka withdrew from the Australian Open on Sunday before qualifying for the first Grand Slam of the year began. The tournament announced the news with a tweet but did not reveal the reason for her withdrawal, simply writing, "Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. She will be missed at #AO2023."

This comes just days after tournament officials were reportedly "quietly resigned" to the fact that their two-time former champion would not be taking part this year despite appearing on the entry list six weeks before the start of the Open. By choosing to withdraw ahead of the qualifier, the 25-year-old has ensured that Dayana Yastremska will advance to the main draw while number 230 Ekaterina Makarova will have the chance to take part in the qualifier and win at least £15,000 (AUD). $26,000).

While the current world No. 42 has given other players an opportunity with the timing of her retirement, it leaves her own tennis future full of uncertainty. Osaka's last match lasted only a few minutes when she faced Daria Saville in the first round of the WTA 500 in Tokyo after the Aussie tore her ACL early in their clash, and the Japanese star went down. is withdrawn due to illness before she can go to court for her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia.

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It was originally reported that Osaka snubbed Australia's summer for Europe after posting a photo on Instagram as she joined boyfriend Cordae on his tour, but the trip actually happened in October and the former No. 1 has been back in America since, even appearing on Good Moring America and The Late Show earlier this month to promote his children's book The Way Champs Play.

In what came as good news for fans, the seven-time title winner admitted that she always missed tennis when she spent a long time away from the sport, raising hopes that she would still return to competition at one point. "I feel like a very curious person so I've been really grateful to have had all these avenues to explore, so I'm really looking forward to doing a lot of things, but I'm a gamer of tennis, so if I don't play tennis for too long, I get itchy," she admitted.

But for now, the future looks uncertain. Osaka has been candid about her mental health issues and pulled out of the 2021 French Open after deciding not to attend press conferences and receiving backlash as a result. She then skipped Wimbledon and took an indefinite hiatus to protect her well-being after leaving the 2021 US Open in tears, but returned in time for the 2022 Australian Open, admitting even she was surprised at the how quickly she came back.

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