This year's Wimbledon Championships has suffered a blow after the withdrawal of the former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
It's been a challenging year so far for the Japanese star. Her most recent setback was a first-round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open. Osaka was far below her best throughout that straight-sets defeat.
However, the 24-year-old has been managing an achilles injury she sustained at the Madrid Masters last month. She missed the Italian Open because of that issue, but it turns out the problem was not fully recovered at the French Open.
Osaka has still been training, but she has been careful to avoid harming her Achilles. For instance, she used an underwater treadmill when doing physical work, which is becoming increasingly common among top athletes.
Unfortunately, despite continuing to work hard, Osaka feels the injury is too severe to risk playing during the grass-court season. Therefore, she has withdrawn from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and will try to return during the North American hard court season.
Interestingly, Osaka had already cast doubt on her participation in London due to Wimbledon not awarding any ranking points this year. She admitted to being motivated by seeking her ranking move upwards.
"The decision [on ranking points] is affecting my mentality going into the grass. I'm not 100 per cent sure if I'm going to go. I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but I'm the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up."
Osaka and Eugenie Bouchard withdrawing in the same week is a real shame. Hence, the Wimbledon organizers will be even more relieved that Serena Williams has confirmed her participation at the tournament, which will certainly draw more fans in London and worldwide.