Will Naomi Osaka appear at the Australian Open?
There is shockingly little clarity on the matter as the first major tennis season approaches, Osaka’s whereabouts remain the subject of online debate and questions swirl about her future in the sport.
This was reported by the Australian Associated Press on Wednesday officials ‘seem quietly resigned’ to Osaka, who didn’t compete in the Australian Open, a tournament she won twice (2019, 2021) after entering the world No. 1 (and for a time the apparent heir to Serena Williams as the dominant figure of the women’s tour).
“There are growing concerns that the four-time Grand Slam champion may not return to the court in any respect,” it added.
Osaka, 25, is still on the official entry list for the Australian Open, which starts on January 16. Nevertheless, she has not been entered into any of the usual fine-tuning tournaments next week in Adelaide or Hobart, and there is no indication that she has come all the way down to begin preparations.
![Naomi Osaka during the September tournament in Tokyo](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/naomi-osaka.jpg?w=1024)
![Naomi Osaka](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/naomi-osaka-3.jpg?w=1024)
So where is she? The newest post on Instagram gave the impression that she was in Europe along with her boyfriend, rapper Cordae, although tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg indicated as an alternative, it was an “October trip snapshot”. The AAP also suggested Los Angeles, reporting that Osaka was tagged in a photograph of a Pilates studio in the area.
Osaka was the highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2022, in response to Forbes, although only $1.1 million of her $51.1 million prize money got here from on-court prize money. She has not played since withdrawing from the Tokyo tournament last September resulting from an abdominal injury, and has only won one accomplished match since last May.
She has not progressed past the third round of a Grand Slam since winning the 2021 Australian Open, cutting through a litany of past and future major winners and finalists, dropping only one set. She then withdrew from the 2021 French Open under painful circumstances, citing her mental health, and has not been a reputable title challenger ever since.