The Japanese former world number one’s name was on the entry list for the Australian Open, but Osaka was not scheduled to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, raising doubts about her participation in the hardcourt major.
Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion, has not played on the WTA Tour since the Pan Pacific Open in September, where she pulled out of her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia in Tokyo due to illness. Her withdrawal marks a double blow for Australian Open organisers a day after American seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was ruled out due to injury.
The four-times major champion is one of the highest-earning women athletes in the world, according to Forbes, with a growing business portfolio, but her latest pullout is likely to further fuel speculation about whether she will continue her playing career.
Let her be.