Australian Open organizers have announced that two-time winner Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the competition.
“Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023,” a tweet from the organizers said.
Former world No. 1 Osaka was not listed to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide or Hobart, raising speculation about her participation in the first grand slam of the year.
The 25-year-old’s ranking has slipped to 47 and she has not played since September after withdrawing during the second round in Tokyo.
The 25-year-old took some time away from competitive tennis and made several highly publicized disclosures about her struggles with mental health following an incident in August 2021, where she was visibly stressed and emotional while addressing the media during an obligatory news conference at Roland Garros.
Osaka subsequently pulled out of the French Open that year and revealed she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first major championship in 2018.
Osaka won only one completed match since May and was beaten in the first round of her three previous tournaments, including the US Open at which she also is a two-time champion.
Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska has been promoted to the main draw in her place.
Osaka joins a list of notable absentees from the Australian Open, which begins on January 16.
Men’s world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is out with a leg injury, he said on Friday. The tournament would have been the 19-year-old’s first grand slam since winning the 2022 US Open in September and becoming the youngest world No. 1 in the history of men’s tennis.
Wild card Venus Williams has also withdrawn from the women’s singles due to an injury, tournament organizers announced on Twitter Saturday.
