Naomi Osaka Withdraws from the 2023 Australian Open
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Kelly Defina/Getty Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the 2023 Australian Open, the tournament organizers announced Sunday.
"Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023 💙," the official Twitter account posted, adding that the news means Dayana Yastremska will now be moved to the main draw.
Osaka has not shared a reason for withdrawing.
Along with Osaka, fellow tennis superstar Venus Williams and top-ranked men's player Carlos Alcaraz also shared that they are bowing out of the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 15. Williams and Alcaraz both said that they are injured.
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023 💙
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 8, 2023
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Osaka's last major match was in late August, when lost in the first round of the US Open. She intended to play in September's Tokyo Open, but had to withdraw due to abdominal pain.
Graham Denholm/Getty Naomi Osaka
Osaka has won the Australian Open twice, in 2019 and 2021. After that second title in Australia — her most recent Grand Slam win — she has struggled with injuries and opened up about having trouble managing her mental health.
After announcing that she would opt out of doing press conferences during the 2021 French Open for her mental health, the backlash led her to pull out of the tournament.
She explained at the time on Instagram; "The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that."
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Osaka, once the No. 1-ranked women's tennis player in the world, is currently at No. 47.
In an interview with PEOPLE in April 2022 to promote Play Academy, a program she created to help other young girls find empowerment through sport, Osaka spoke about how she's grown as a person and athlete throughout 2021 and early 2022.
"For me, the biggest lesson I've learned is to try to be present in each moment," Osaka told PEOPLE. "It's easy to lose sight of how far you've come, but I've been prioritizing trying to live in the moment and enjoy the journey."
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She has become an advocate for prioritizing mental health.
"I think being honest about how I feel can help other people feel less alone," Osaka said of her decision to go public with her struggles and speaking out about seeking therapy this year. "Therapy is something that everyone can benefit from, regardless of if they are 'struggling' or not."
Continued Osaka, "Seeing a therapist has been helping me to cope with anxiety. I don't have all the answers, but I hope that my transparency can help someone else who may be feeling similarly."